Yellow Clown Goby Care Guide
Gobiodon okinawae is a tiny bright-yellow coral goby that perches among the branches of staghorn Acropora corals in the Western Pacific.
Overview
Gobiodon okinawae, the Yellow Clown Goby, is a very small marine coral goby of the Western Pacific. It is uniformly bright yellow with whitish cheek patches and lacks scales. FishBase notes it is a coral-commensal species that hovers among or above coral branches rather than burrowing. It was described by Sawada, Arai and Abe in 1972.
Taxonomy
- Family: Gobiidae
- Genus: Gobiodon
- Scientific name: Gobiodon okinawae
Habitat
FishBase records the species in the Western Pacific from southern Japan south to Rowley Shoals and the southern Great Barrier Reef, plus Palau and the Marshall Islands. It lives among staghorn Acropora corals in lagoons, often in aggregations of 5 to 15 individuals, at depths of usually 2 to 15 m.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 50 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
- Carbonate hardness: 8-12 dKH
- Maximum size: about 3.5 cm
- Lifespan: 3-6 years
Diet
A planktivore that feeds on mesoplankton in the wild, darting from its perch to capture passing food. In the aquarium it takes small meaty foods such as cyclops, enriched brine shrimp and finely chopped mysis, fed twice daily.
Compatibility
Generally non-aggressive except toward other yellow clown gobies. It suits calm companions such as clownfish, cardinalfish and wrasses; lionfish and other predators should be avoided. Its defense is a poisonous, bitter skin mucus that makes it unpalatable.
Reef compatibility
Reef-safe with the caveat that it perches on branching Acropora and may occasionally nip at small-polyp stony coral polyps. It is otherwise harmless to the reef and benefits from living among coral branches.
Breeding
Wikipedia reports it is a bidirectional protogynous hermaphrodite, beginning life as female. Eggs are laid in circular bands around coral in masses up to about 1,000 and hatch in roughly five days.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 28 June 2018).