TankBud

Randall's prawn goby

Amblyeleotris randalli

Also known as Randall's Shrimpgoby, Sailfin Shrimpgoby, Gold-Barred Shrimp Goby

SaltwaterFish

Randall's prawn goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
Chika Watanabe · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
30 gal
114 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Gobiidae
Origin
Western Pacific (Moluccas to the Solomon Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the northern Great Barrier Reef)

Overview

The Randall's prawn goby is a mostly peaceful shrimp goby for a calm reef tank with a deep sand bed. It is a step up from the easiest reef fish.

Did you know

The Randall's prawn goby's partner, a pistol shrimp, can snap its oversized claw fast enough to stun small prey with a shockwave. When a predator gets too close, the goby's dash into the burrow is often the shrimp's only warning that trouble is near.

Caring for the Randall's prawn goby

Give the Randall's prawn goby a stable tank of at least 30 gal (114 L). Run the sand bed 2 to 3 inches deep, mixing fine aragonite with some coarser grains or rubble. The coarser bits help the burrow hold its shape, and the entrance should sit tucked beside a piece of rock. It jumps readily, so a well-fitted lid is required.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed mysis, enriched brine shrimp and chopped seafood at regular feedings. It can be slow to settle in, so feed it more often while it adjusts to a new tank.

The Randall's prawn goby is reef safe and generally easygoing with other fish, and calm tank mates suit it best. It can live alone or in a group. It can turn territorial, even aggressive, toward its own species or similar shrimp gobies competing for the same burrow site. Breeding it is hard.

Good to know

The Randall's prawn goby has a tall, sail-like first dorsal fin marked with a dark eyespot. Orange bars run across its pale body. Like other Amblyeleotris species, it raises and lowers that fin to signal the shrimp waiting just inside the burrow entrance. It can live 5 to 8 years in a well-run aquarium, a long lifespan for a fish this size.

In the wild

The Randall's prawn goby lives on sand flats and slopes near reef edges in the western Pacific. It ranges from the Moluccas to the Solomon Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to the northern Great Barrier Reef. It shares a burrow with an Alpheus pistol shrimp, such as A. randalli or A. bellulus.

Symbiotic relationships

Shrimp gobies and pistol shrimp

A pistol shrimp can barely see, but it digs and maintains a burrow all day. The goby that shares it has sharp eyes and does no digging. It sits at the entrance as a lookout, and the shrimp keeps one antenna resting on the goby's body whenever it is outside. A flick of the goby's tail sends the shrimp back down the hole, and a harder threat sends them both. At dusk they retire together and the shrimp seals the entrance for the night. The shrimp gets an early warning system, and the goby gets a home it could not build.

This partnership is easy to keep and it rewards watching. Give them a sand bed at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep with some rubble to hold the tunnel, add the two together or the shrimp first, and feed sinking food near the burrow mouth. The snap of the shrimp's claw is a small cavitation bubble collapsing, and you will hear it across the room. Pairs form readily between strangers, but the genera matter: the yellow watchman, pink-spotted, Wheeler's, orange-spot and Randall's gobies take a tiger pistol shrimp, while the yasha, hi-fin red banded and pinkbar gobies pair with Randall's pistol shrimp.

Every symbiotic relationship in the catalog

Common questions

What size tank does a Randall's prawn goby need?

A Randall's prawn goby needs at least 30 gal (114 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Randall's prawn goby need?

A Randall's prawn goby is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Randall's prawn goby eat?

A Randall's prawn goby eats mysis, enriched brine shrimp and chopped seafood. Feed it regularly, and more often while it adjusts to a new tank.

How big does a Randall's prawn goby get?

An adult Randall's prawn goby reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

Related species