Yellow Watchman Goby

Cryptocentrus cinctus

Also known as Yellow Prawn Goby, Yellow Shrimp Goby, Banded Prawn Goby

SaltwaterFish

Yellow Watchman Goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus) — User:Haplochromis · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Indo-Pacific (Red Sea and East Africa to the western Pacific)
Family: Gobiidae

Overview

This goby is reef safe and will not harm corals or clams, and it actually helps keep the sand bed turned over as it digs. It is peaceful toward unrelated tankmates but territorial with other shrimp gobies and its own kind, so keep just one unless you have a large tank and a bonded pair. It is a hardy, beginner friendly fish, though it is a determined jumper, so a tight fitting lid is important. Feed meaty foods such as mysis and enriched brine along with some prepared marine fare.

In the wild

Yellow watchman gobies live on sandy and rubble-strewn patches next to reefs, where they dig and defend a burrow in the substrate. They need a soft sand bed deep enough to tunnel into and some rock or rubble to shore up the burrow entrance. A tank of around 75 liters or more with a secure lid suits them well, and a shallow, open sand area lets them do what they do best, which is perch at the mouth of their burrow and keep watch.

Good to know

The common name comes from a well known partnership with pistol (snapping) shrimp of the genus Alpheus. The near blind shrimp does the digging and maintains the shared burrow, while the sharp eyed goby stands guard at the entrance and signals danger with a flick of its tail so both can dart inside. Color varies from bright yellow to a grey form with blue speckling, sometimes within the same population.

Did you know

Pair one with a pistol shrimp and you can watch a real working partnership: the shrimp keeps one antenna touching the goby at all times, and when the goby twitches its tail the shrimp instantly knows to retreat into the burrow.