Oopu Nakea

It grows up to 14 inches long

Are native freshwater stream gobies. O'opu nakea is the most common of the five types of o'ope. The O'opu are found in streams between the mountain and the sea. Some o'opu only live in clean, undisturbed streams. Some o'opu can live in dirty disturbed water. The o'opu bottom fins when pressed together turns into a sucker. They use their sucker to climb up waterfalls. The streams they live in is mostly located on Kauai, O'ahu, Moloka'i and Hawai'i. O'opu larvae live in the ocean for 4-6 months. In the streams of the big island there appear to still be reasonably healthy populations. These freshwater gobies are indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands.

Brown and gray with stripes on its fins, back and tail. In the fall when the streams are filled, female and male o'opu go downstream to mate. The females lay eggs near rocks for protection. The eggs stick to the rocks and males fertizlize them by covering the eggs with sperm. The male o'opu guard the eggs until they hatch, which takes about one day. O'opu larvae cannot live in freshwater long, so the larvae floats downstream to the ocean. The O'opu nakea is a freshwater fish that feeds on small insects, seaweed (limu), snails and earthworms. O'opu may also eat other o'opu nakea and plankton.