Redspotted Clown Goby

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Tropical Indo-Pacific: Java Sea and Philippines to northern Australia. Found exclusively in branching Acropora corals in shallow lagoons.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the Gobiidae family. Scaleless, slimy body with a deep profile. Reaches a maximum length of 4 cm.

Social Behavior: Coral-dwelling and highly sedentary. Peaceful, but defends its host coral from other Gobiodon. Lives in monogamous pairs.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Cream or pale grey body covered with longitudinal rows of small pink or red spots. No visible sexual dimorphism.

Aquarium Setup: Demands a nano reef tank of at least 40 liters. Branching Acropora corals are mandatory to simulate its natural habitat.

Diet and Feeding: Carnivorous. Feeds on zooplankton and host coral mucus. Offer fine frozen foods (copepods, rotifers) three times daily.

Water Quality: Maintain stable parameters: temperature 24-28 °C, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity SG 1.020-1.025. Standard reef filtration is recommended.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Peaceful with other fish. May nip host coral tissue during spawning, which could stress delicate corals.

Aquarium Breeding: Monogamous pairs lay adhesive eggs after stripping a small patch of coral tissue. Raising larvae requires specialized live food.

Risks and Diseases: Starvation in newly set up tanks. Highly resistant to skin parasites due to its thick, toxic mucus coat.