🐠 Starry Goby (Asterropteryx semipunctata)
A Dark, Mottled Body Scattered With Iridescent Blue Spots • A Striking Starry-Night Pattern • Surprisingly Uncommon in the Trade
 
📋 The Starry Goby, also known as the Bluespotted Goby or Star-Finned Goby, has a charming dark, mottled body scattered with tiny, iridescent blue spots. Juveniles appear white with dark splotches, developing into this darker mottled adult colouration over time, with the third dorsal spine becoming notably elongated in maturity.
It comes from a vast range across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf to Hawaii and the Line Islands, north to Japan and south to Lord Howe Island, inhabiting shallow, algae-covered rubble areas of lagoons and inner reef flats. Every Starry Goby we ship is feeding well.
A surprising fact: despite this species' remarkably wide natural range, it isn't commonly seen in the marine aquarium trade. This is a small, hardy, and undemanding nano fish, spending much of its time close to a favoured rocky shelter or burrow, which it will share with a mate if paired. It's shy but active, and does best in a tank with an established population of copepods to graze on throughout the day. It's fully reef safe, and peaceful, rarely showing aggression except occasionally toward others of its own genus. It reaches up to 6.5cm, often cited around 4cm in aquariums, so a 40L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Dark Body With Iridescent Blue Spots: A charming, starry-patterned nano goby
💎 Uncommon in the Trade: Surprising given its remarkably wide natural range
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
💪 Hardy: A small, undemanding, beginner-friendly nano fish
🦐 Benefits From Copepods: Does best in a tank with an established microfauna population