TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes (Perch-likes)
Family: Gobiidae (Gobies)
Subfamily: Gobiinae

Genus/species: Stonogobiops yasha

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Body white, with 3 reddish-orange stripes.

Video links

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: They are found in Western Pacific in the outer reef slopes; often in pairs, hovering a few centimeters above the sandy bottom at the entrance of its burrow. Symbiotic with the red-and-white barred shrimp, Alpheus randalli

DIET IN THE WILD: The shrimp goby feeds on zooplankton and small benthic invertebrates.

Video link.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/39444680840/in/album-72157659465376212/

CONSERVATION: NOT EVALUATED
They are captive bred making them available to aquariums.

REMARKS: For a discussion of gobies and their commensal relationships (both parties in the relationship benefit). (see link below).
The goby benefits from the shrimp’s digging and construction skills, having access to a well-built burrow. Pistol shrimps have poor eyesight and they use gobies as an early warning system to detect predators. Gobies tend to hover just outside the shared burrow, catching passing zooplankton or small benthic invertebrates. In many cases the shrimps maintain contact with the gobies by using their long antennae.

Tropical Fish Mag.  www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/feature-articles/pisto…

REFERENCES

California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium Hidden Reef 2018

Ron’s flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/41253989801/in/album-72157659465376212/

fishbase.  www.fishbase.se/summary/Stonogobiops-yasha.html

Ron’s WordPress Shortlink wp.me/p1DZ4b-1W8