Yasha Goby

Care at a glance

Overview

This goby is peaceful and reef safe, and its calm temperament makes it a good fit for small peaceful fish and invertebrates. It tends to stay out in the open and shows more natural behavior when paired with a pistol shrimp, without one it often stays tucked further into the rockwork. Feed a varied diet of mysis, enriched brine shrimp, and other small meaty foods several times a day, particularly in the first few weeks after introduction.

In the wild

In the wild this goby sits at the mouth of a burrow on deep sand slopes, sharing the tunnel with a pistol shrimp partner. A tank needs a mixed sand bed at least 1.5 to 2 inches deep with some fine rubble or small shells so the shrimp can dig and shore up the burrow walls. A secure lid is a must, this species jumps readily, especially when it feels exposed.

Good to know

First described in 2001 from specimens collected in Japan, Stonogobiops yasha takes its name from a horned demon in Japanese folklore, a nod to its tall, sail-like first dorsal fin. Like its close relatives, it forms an obligate partnership with an Alpheus pistol shrimp, though it can survive without one if kept in a tank with plenty of natural cover. Researchers at Rising Tide Conservation reared this species from eggs to juveniles in 2016, one of the first times a shrimp-associated goby had been raised through its full pelagic larval stage in captivity.

Did you know

Its bright orange stripes and tall dorsal sail make it one of the most photographed gobies in the hobby, but the fin has a job too, when raised, it signals the resident pistol shrimp that all is clear above the burrow.

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