Neon Goby

About

The Northern Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops) punches well above its weight for a fish that barely reaches two inches. Native to the coral reefs of the western Atlantic, from southern Florida and the Gulf Coast down through Belizean waters, this little goby earns its living as a cleaner fish, picking parasites, dead tissue, and debris from the skin, fins, mouths, and gill chambers of much larger reef fish like groupers. Watching a tiny goby service a fish twenty times its size is one of the genuinely remarkable things you can witness in a reef tank. In the wild, these gobies set up shop on coral heads and wait for clients to arrive. In the aquarium, they will often take on the same role, attending to tankmates and even occasionally working over your hand if you hold still long enough. They are monogamous in the wild, forming bonded pairs, and captive-bred specimens are readily available, which makes them a responsible and practical choice. The neon blue lateral stripe against a dark body makes them easy to spot despite their small size. They are well suited to smaller reef systems and are generally a forgiving fish once settled in, though a mature, stable tank will serve them best.