🐠 Diamond Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
A Pearly White, Torpedo-Shaped Body Covered in Orange Dashes • Cyan Markings Near the Jaw • A Natural Sand-Bed Cleaning Specialist
 
📋 The Diamond Goby, also known as the Diamond Watchman Goby, Orange-Dashed Goby, Maiden Goby, or Pretty Prawn Goby, has an elegant torpedo-shaped, pearly white body covered in orange dashes and spots, with cyan-coloured markings near the jaw.
It comes from a wide range across the Indo-Pacific, including the Australian Coral Sea, Fiji, and beyond, inhabiting sandy areas of the reef, often found in monogamous pairs. Every Diamond Goby we ship is feeding well.
A popular natural sand-bed cleaner, this species spends much of its time taking mouthfuls of substrate, passing it through its gill plates to extract microorganisms and food, leaving the sand bed noticeably cleaner and helping manage nuisance cyanobacteria, though in doing so it will leave small mounds of substrate throughout the tank, and larger individuals may re-aquascape more dramatically. This species needs a mature, biologically established tank with an open sand bed, as it's sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, and may struggle without an established, food-rich substrate to sift. It's a jumper, so an absolutely secure, tight-fitting lid is essential. It's reef safe with caution, indifferent to live rock and won't disturb corals, but should be kept singly, as it's not compatible with other members of its own genus. It reaches up to 15cm, so a 190L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Pearly White Body With Orange Dashes: An elegant, popular sand-sifting goby
🏖️ A Natural Sand Cleaner: Aerates substrate and manages nuisance cyanobacteria
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: Indifferent to live rock, won't disturb corals
⚠️ A Jumping Risk: An absolutely secure, tight-fitting lid is essential
🧬 Needs a Mature Tank: Sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, needs an established sand bed