Yano's Shrimp Goby
Amblyeleotris yanoi
Yano's Shrimp Goby is a colorful marine fish that shares a fascinating symbiotic relationship with digging Alpheus snapping shrimps. It thrives in calm, mature reef environments.
Température de l’eau
22 - 26 °C
Valeur du pH
8.1 - 8.4
Type d'eau
Marin
Niveau dans le bac
Fond
Taille adulte
7 cm
Volume minimal du bac
>= 80 L
Groupe minimal
>= 1
Description de l'espèce
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Amblyeleotris yanoi is native to the tropical Western Pacific Ocean, primarily recorded from the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Great Barrier Reef. It inhabits the sandy and muddy bottoms adjacent to outer reef slopes and sheltered lagoons at depths ranging from 3 to 35 meters where substrate allows burrowing.
Taxonomy and Morphology: A member of the Gobiidae family and the genus Amblyeleotris. Commonly known as Yano's shrimp goby or sentinel goby. It has a slender, elongated, cylindrical body typical of sand gobies, with eyes set high on its head to watch for predators. Adults reach a maximum length of 6-8 cm.
Social Behavior: Diurnal and peaceful. It lives in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with snapping shrimps of the genus Alpheus (especially Alpheus randalli or Alpheus bellulus). The shrimp digs and maintains the burrow, while the goby acts as a sentry, warning the nearly blind shrimp of danger with tail signals.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Features a creamy-white body background crossed by 5 or 6 oblique orange or bright red bands. The head is decorated with small blue and yellow spots, and the dorsal fin has a yellow tinge with a distinct black spot. There are no obvious visual markers to distinguish between the sexes.
Soins, reproduction et cohabitation
Aquarium Setup: Requires a marine aquarium of at least 80-100 liters. The most important setup requirement is a deep sand bed (at least 5-8 cm) composed of fine aragonite sand mixed with small shell fragments and coral rubble, which are essential for the shrimp to reinforce its burrow walls.
Diet and Feeding: Carnivorous, feeding on small benthic crustaceans and zooplankton. In captivity, it readily accepts frozen foods such as mysis, brine shrimp, lobster eggs, and minced krill. It can be trained to eat small dry pellets. Feed twice daily, preferably casting food near the burrow entrance.
Water Quality: Requires clean, stable marine parameters: water temperature 24-27°C, pH 8.1-8.4, specific gravity (SG) 1.022-1.025, and low nitrates. Good filtration is necessary, but keep bottom water flow moderate to prevent sand erosion and keep the burrow from constantly collapsing.
Compatibility and Cohabitation: Extremely peaceful and reef-safe. It is highly recommended to house them with a symbiotic Alpheus shrimp to observe their natural behaviors. Compatible with peaceful reef fishes (clownfish, blennies, anthias). Avoid bottom-dwelling predators like lionfish, morays, or large groupers.
Aquarium Breeding: Breeding in captivity is extremely rare. The pair spawns inside the burrow maintained by the shrimp, where the male guards the eggs until they hatch. Raising the pelagic larvae is difficult due to their tiny size, requiring specialized live feeds and protocols.
Risks and Diseases: Quite hardy, but prone to jumping out of the tank if startled, especially at night; a tight-fitting lid or mesh screen is mandatory. They can suffer from stress or injury if kept with aggressive sand-dwelling species that compete for burrow space.
Origine et répartition géographiques
Amblyeleotris yanoi is native to the tropical Western Pacific Ocean, primarily recorded from the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Great Barrier Reef. It inhabits the sandy and muddy bottoms adjacent to outer reef slopes and sheltered lagoons at depths ranging from 3 to 35 meters where substrate allows burrowing.
Origine
Océans tropicaux et récifsAsie du Sud et du Sud-EstAsie de l'EstAustralie, Nouvelle-Guinée et Océanie
Profil de poisson
- Tempérament
- Territorial
- It is a peaceful, shy, and cautious fish that prefers to stay close to the safety of its established burrow. While it will bravely defend its immediate territory from other bottom-dwellers, it ignores fish swimming higher up. Providing plenty of rubble and a quiet environment helps it feel secure and behave naturally.
- Régime alimentaire
- Carnivore
- As a micro-predator, its natural diet consists mostly of tiny benthic crustaceans and zooplankton found near the substrate. In captivity, it eagerly accepts frozen mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, and sinking carnivore pellets. Providing a varied, high-quality meaty diet is critical for maintaining its health and vibrant coloration.
- Espérance de vie
- 3-5 years
- Taille adulte
- 7 cm
- Ratio des sexes
- Pair
- There are no obvious external differences between males and females, making sexing this species visually almost impossible. They are best kept singly or as a confirmed mated pair to avoid territorial disputes. Placing multiple unsexed individuals in a small tank usually leads to aggressive territorial battles over burrow sites.
- Fréquence d'alimentation
- Twice daily
- Feeding small portions two to three times daily is recommended to mimic its natural, continuous foraging behavior. Because it rarely ventures far from its burrow, targeted feeding near its home may be necessary in a busy tank. Care should be taken to ensure it gets enough food without overfeeding the entire system.
- Charge biologique
- Medium
- This species has a minimal impact on the overall bioload of the aquarium due to its small size and sedentary lifestyle. It produces very little waste compared to more active, open-water swimmers. Routine maintenance and standard filtration are entirely sufficient to keep the water pristine.
- Courant
- Strong
- It favors gentle to moderate water flow, reflecting the calm sandy bottoms and rubble zones it inhabits in the ocean. Exceedingly strong currents can collapse its delicate burrow and make feeding difficult. A well-planned, indirect flow pattern allows the goby to thrive while keeping detritus from accumulating.
- Risque de saut
- Yes
- Like most gobies, this fish is easily spooked and possesses a strong instinct to jump when frightened or chased. A tight-fitting lid or a fine mesh cover is absolutely necessary to prevent it from leaping out of the aquarium. Keeping it in an open-top tank is highly risky and often ends poorly.
- Reproduction
- Oviparous
- Captive breeding of this species is extremely rare and technically demanding, primarily due to the difficulty of raising its microscopic pelagic larvae. In their natural habitat, they are substrate spawners that lay adhesive eggs deep within the safety of their burrow. The male takes on the responsibility of guarding and oxygenating the eggs until they hatch.
- Compatibilité et compagnons
- Reef safe
- It is a fantastic community fish for peaceful reef aquariums, coexisting easily with corals and small, non-aggressive tank mates. This fish forms a fascinating symbiotic bond with pistol shrimp, which provides an incredible behavioral display. Large or predatory fish must be avoided, as they will easily consume this small goby.
- Niveau dans le bac
- Bottom
- This bottom-dwelling fish spends the vast majority of its life resting on the sand bed or hovering just outside its burrow. It relies heavily on a deep sand substrate to create its home alongside its symbiotic shrimp partner. It will only dart higher into the water column momentarily to grab a passing morsel of food.
Modèles et paramètres scientifiques
FishBase
Fenêtre sur les données scientifiques officielles de l’espèce
FishBase v25.04Données synchronisées le : 15/06/2026
- Niveau trophique
- 3,4 ± 0,4 se
- Résilience
- Élevée (moins de 15 mois)
- Singularité phylogénétique (PD50)
- 0.5
- Relation bayésienne longueur-poids
- a = 0.00741, b = 3.09
- VulnérabilitéVulnérabilité faible (10 / 100)
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