Gobiopterus

Gobiopterus is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Gobies & Gudgeons section, recorded from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Philippines. Adult sizes run from 0.5 in to 1.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
0.5–1.5 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2
Recorded from
4 countries

About the genus

Gobiopterus is a genus of tiny, near-transparent gobies found in fresh and brackish waters across South and Southeast Asia, with records from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Species in the genus favor slow, sheltered water - estuaries, canals, and vegetated backwaters - and are built for that quiet-water life: a slender, glass-clear body barely 0.5–1.5 in long that gives the group its common 'glass goby' nickname. Like many small gobies, they mature quickly and are short-lived, a life-history pattern suited to the fluctuating, often brackish habitats they occupy.

Gobiopterus has essentially no presence in the aquarium hobby; its extreme fragility, minute size, and short lifespan make it a fish of scientific rather than ornamental interest, occasionally noted as incidental bycatch in trawls for other small fish rather than kept deliberately. Gobiopterus chuno and Gobiopterus stellatus reflect the genus's patchy assessment record - one rated Least Concern and the other Data Deficient - which is typical for small, easily overlooked estuarine gobies across the region.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 1 Data Deficient · 1

The 2 species

Every Gobiopterus recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

(Hamilton, 1822)

Glass goby, Chuno goby

1.5 in SL · LC

(Herre, 1927)

Dwarf freshwater goby, Dolong

0.5 in TL · DD

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Gobiopterus. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/gobiopterus/

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