🐠 Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby (Amblyeleotris guttata)
A White Body Covered in Orange Spots Outlined in Brown • A Documented Pistol Shrimp Partnership • A Species That Spawns Successfully in Home Tanks
 
📋 A note on identification: the Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby is sometimes mislabelled interchangeably with the Diamond Watchman Goby (Valenciennea puellaris), given both share "spotted" naming and orange markings, but these are distinct species.
This species, also known as the Spotted Prawn Goby or Orange Spotted Goby, has an attractive white body covered in orange spots outlined in brown. It comes from the Western Pacific, from the Philippines to Tonga, north to the Ryukyu Islands, and south to Australia, inhabiting reef environments, typically hovering just above sandy or rubble substrate near its burrow. Every Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby we ship is feeding well.
A charming natural partnership defines this species: it forms a real symbiotic relationship with nearly blind alpheid pistol shrimp, sharing a burrow the shrimp digs and maintains, while the goby keeps watch and alerts its partner to danger. It's a peaceful species that adapts well to aquarium life, and prefers a bed of fine sand and loose coral rubble to sift through, and is known to spawn successfully in home aquariums. It's also a jumper, so a secure, tight-fitting lid matters, and it poses a possible threat to small, delicate ornamental shrimp, despite otherwise adapting well to reef aquariums. It reaches up to 11cm, so a 40L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 White Body With Orange Spots: An attractive, popular shrimp goby
🦐 A Documented Pistol Shrimp Partnership: A real symbiotic burrow-sharing relationship
🔍 A Naming Note Worth Knowing: Distinct from the similarly named Diamond Watchman Goby
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: May pose a threat to small ornamental shrimp
⚠️ A Jumping Risk: A secure, tight-fitting lid is essential