Leptocephalus Prawn-goby

About

The Pink-speckled Shrimpgoby (Cryptocentrus leptocephalus) is one of the more personable fish you can keep in a reef or fish-only saltwater setup, largely because of its remarkable relationship with pistol shrimp. In the wild, this goby ranges across the Western Pacific from Indonesia to New Caledonia and northwestern Australia, turning up on silty coastal reefs, mangrove edges, inner lagoons, and sheltered sand-and-rubble flats down to about 10 meters. It is precisely the kind of low-energy, muted habitat where you might overlook it entirely. Until you notice the fish perched alertly at the mouth of a burrow while its shrimp companion does all the excavation work below. The goby earns its "watchman" name honestly: it monitors for danger while the nearly blind shrimp hauls out material, and a single tail flick sends both retreating underground. At night the goby reportedly seals the burrow entrance with rubble, leaving no visible trace. In the aquarium, this behavior plays out in full, complete with the shrimp maintaining antennal contact with the goby whenever it ventures out. The fish itself is attractively patterned with pink and white speckles across a tan body. It is peaceful toward tankmates but will defend the immediate area around its burrow, so a sandy substrate and a compatible pistol shrimp will bring out the best in it.