Yellow Clown Goby

Gobiodon okinawae

Also known as Okinawa Goby, Yellow Coral Goby, Yellow Clown Fish Goby

SaltwaterFish

Yellow Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae) — Jenny · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe with caution
Origin: Western Pacific (southern Japan to the Great Barrier Reef)
Family: Gobiidae

Overview

This one earns a reef safe caution rather than a clear yes. It will not eat corals as food, but it perches directly on SPS colonies and can nip small polyps, and its habit of laying eggs on Acropora branches can cause localized tissue recession. Keepers of prized SPS often see it as a risk, while it is essentially harmless in an LPS or soft coral tank that gives it fewer tempting branches. It is peaceful toward other fish but will scrap with its own kind, so keep one or a bonded pair. Feed small meaty foods and finely prepared fare.

In the wild

Unlike most gobies, the yellow clown goby does not sift sand or dig a burrow. In the wild it perches among the outer branches of Acropora and other branching stony corals in sheltered lagoons, usually in small groups. In the aquarium it will happily adopt an SPS colony or a branchy rock as its home base and dart out to grab passing food. It is tiny and undemanding, so a nano tank of around 40 liters is enough, ideally with branching structure to perch on.

Good to know

The species is a protogynous hermaphrodite, so a pair will sort out male and female roles among themselves. When breeding, the female lays eggs in bands wrapped around a coral branch and the male guards them until they hatch. Its main defense is a bitter, toxic skin mucus that makes it distasteful to predators, which is part of why such a small, slow fish can perch out in the open on a reef.

Did you know

Because it roosts in coral instead of the substrate, the yellow clown goby often sits right out in the open on top of a bright coral head, using its toxic slime coat rather than a hiding place to stay safe from would-be predators.