Whitecap Goby

Lotilia klausewitzi

Also known as White Cap Prawn Goby, Whitecap Shrimpgoby, Dancer Shrimpgoby, Lotilia graciliosa

SaltwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 2 in (5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Very rare
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Western Pacific, southern Japan to the Great Barrier Reef
Family: Gobiidae

Overview

Whitecap gobies are peaceful and reef safe, and they do best in a calm nano tank rather than a busy community, since they are shy and need frequent small meals. A tight lid matters because they jump, and a partner pistol shrimp is optional in captivity.

In the wild

Lives on sand and rubble patches around reef edges, lagoons, and outer slopes in the western Pacific, from southern Japan to the Great Barrier Reef, anywhere from 1 to 50 m. It shares a burrow with a pistol shrimp and hovers just above the entrance while its partner digs.

Good to know

Pacific whitecap gobies were long called Lotilia graciliosa until a 2012 review showed the Red Sea fish is a separate species and named this one Lotilia klausewitzi, honoring the ichthyologist who first described the genus. It reaches about 5 cm, dark chocolate brown with a clean white cap running from the snout to the first dorsal fin.

Did you know

It fans its black spotted pectoral fins in a slow flutter as it hovers, which is why some call it the dancer shrimpgoby. For years this was a fish most hobbyists only ever saw in photographs, and captive breeding has only recently made it available at all.