🐠 Yellow Watchman Goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus)
A Bright Yellow-to-Orange Body With Pale Blue-White Spotting • A Fascinating Pistol Shrimp Partnership • One of the Best Beginner Reef Gobies
 
📋 The Yellow Watchman Goby, also known as the Yellow Prawn-Goby, has a bright yellow-to-orange body scattered with pale blue-white spots, and independently mobile eyes that let it scan constantly for danger.
It comes from the Western Pacific, inhabiting coastal bays and lagoons at shallow depths, where it forms a fascinating partnership with pistol shrimp. The shrimp, an excellent digger but nearly blind, excavates and maintains a shared burrow, while the goby, with sharp eyesight but limited digging ability, stands watch outside. The shrimp keeps an antenna in constant contact with the goby's tail, and at the first sign of danger the goby flicks its tail as a warning signal, sending them both diving back into the burrow together. Every Yellow Watchman Goby we ship is feeding well.
This is one of the best beginner reef gobies, hardy and easy to feed, and a pistol shrimp partner isn't required, since many specimens do perfectly well alone, though pairing with a compatible shrimp is one of the most rewarding behaviours to watch in a home aquarium. It's fully reef safe, and it's a known jumper, especially when startled, so a tight-fitting lid is essential. It reaches up to 10cm, so a 75L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Bright Yellow With Pale Spotting: A cheerful, easy-to-spot goby
🦐 A Pistol Shrimp Partnership: Tail-flick warning signals coordinate a shared burrow
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
🧠 Beginner Friendly: Hardy and easy to feed
⚠️ A Jumping Risk: A tight-fitting lid is essential