Barber Goby

About

The barber goby (Elacatinus figaro) is one of the few cleaner gobies native entirely to Brazilian waters, making it a standout among Western Atlantic reef fish. In the wild, it runs cleaning stations on rocky and coral reefs along much of Brazil's coastline, picking parasites and dead tissue from larger fish that queue up and hold still for the service. That cleaning behavior carries right into the aquarium, where it will often work over tankmates in the same obliging fashion. Visually, it follows the classic neon goby blueprint. A slender, torpedo-shaped body marked with a vivid yellow or gold stripe running from snout to tail along each flank, set against a dark background. It's a small fish, typically reaching around an inch and a half, and spends much of its time perched on rockwork or actively patrolling its chosen territory. Because it's not collected from the wild as heavily as some Caribbean relatives, captive-bred specimens are increasingly available and are generally hardier and better adapted to aquarium life. It gets along reasonably well in community reef tanks, though it will defend a small territory. Intermediate care is a fair rating. Not difficult, but it does best with stable water quality and a well-established system.