Watchman Goby Spotlight (including Fight Sequence)

A spotlight featuring the yellow watchman (or prawn) goby. I have also captured the sparring resulting from the introduction of a second specimen. The showdown is at around the 3:30 mark.

[@micahwhalen3866]

Awesome! Really interesting and beautiful fish. Thanks for sharing!

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Thank you, Micah, def a cool fish!

[@jaxteller8202]

Great video! Beautiful tank

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Thanks very much! That was some time ago, but I'm really happy with how the tank is doing today, I certainly need to get an update posted.

[@jimmybyrne4272]

Awesome video. “It seems the clown is reffing” 😂😂😂😂

[@AndyMahnFL411]

I think it's because he has the stripes 😊

[@CescaTheDarkHorse]

Nice video. A lovely looking fish :)

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Cesca's Reef, thanks so much. Really liking these gobies.

[@fredskolnick1183]

They have great personalities! They definitely can recognize me. Not shy at all!!

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Big personalities for sure!

[@karennation3580]

I just bought a tiny one inch one and boy is he cute! I have so many fish that hide and barely see them until its eating time and this little fish has no fear and eats very well! I thought about getting a snapping shrimp but fear it maybe start to hide with the shrimp and love to see the fish out and about in my tank. I have him with a tailspot and a royal gramma and believe it or not the royal gramma is full size and hides in the back all the time. I dont know how he can be scared of a tiny blennie and a goby but maybe because I got him full grown, he might have just been captured. I defiently learned a lesson not to buy a full grown fish!

[@bbybby91]

I love these fish so much, I have a white one that’s full grown, about 5 years old, it was being a little sluggish yesterday, haven’t seen it at all today, might have died as it was nearing the end of their life expectancy . I have a 93 gallon tank, I want to put in a yellow and a white in at the same time if my big white one doesn’t show back up.

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Sorry about the disappearance, hopefully it reappears, otherwise if you choose to add new ones, adding the same time would be wise. They can be territorial. Best of luck.

[@CheyenneAbbott]

Curious how these two did once your introduced the second YWG? I just introduced a second YWG in my 32g and hoping there is a chance it will work out. :)

[@PaulBlaney]

informative :) cool fish

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Thanks, Paul, I am liking these guys.

[@netstraining983]

I had a mated pair of Watchmen Gobies. The male was bright yellow and the female, grey. The female passed away and the male turned from yellow to grey.

[@AbsoluteZero6714]

Sorry to hear that. How long have you had them for and why did the female pass away?

[@franciscogomez9668]

Hi, Do this kind of gobby create sand storms? I had a banded goby and I had to remove him from my tank, because he was covering all the coral with sand, but I'm looking to add a goby. Could you give me an advice about this goby?

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Great question and concern. It really depends upon the individual. Mine would create small mounds of sand upon which they would sit and chill out. I've heard of others which can rain mouthfuls of sand and gravel on top of lower placed corals, and that can be frustrating. Typically, there might be a lot of engineering going on and usually when they're getting familiar with the tank and creating their tunnels around and under the rocks, and eventually they might settle down and stop the reconstructive work. Best of luck to you.

[@franciscogomez9668]

@@AndyMahnFL411 thank you for the info

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@franciscogomez9668 - sure thing- you may also want to check out the diamond goby - BUT i would not recommend it for a newer aquarium - as they need a well-established aquarium and sand bed to sift for food. You can try a watchman goby and see if it will pair with a shrimp - so interesting to observe!

[@migueldiaz1111]

Very informative, and beautifu fish too. How much do you notice the gobies sifting the sand? Do they sift a lot, do they worry more about fightin for territory, or do they just swim most of the time?

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Glad you like the video. They tend to sift a fair amount and they'll also just sit for periods of time and at other times, they'll kind of hover in the water column. Definitely a lot of personality though I would probably not recommend having more than one of the same fish.

[@migueldiaz1111]

@@AndyMahnFL411 Wow! They definetely have a lot of personality, I fell in love with one at my lfs. But I am still indecisive between this one and the Diamond Goby. Thanks a lot for the info, man. This will help me a lot!👍

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@migueldiaz1111 sure thing, you'll probably get a lot more mileage with the diamond goby as they seem to be constantly sifting the bottom. The Watchman goby will sift but to a lesser extent from what I've witnessed. Make sure you have a good lid as these guys can be jumpers.

[@migueldiaz1111]

@@AndyMahnFL411 Yeah, I've heard a lot about them trying to jump out of a tank. And I think the Diamond will be the perfect match for my deep sand bed at the end. Thanks once again!

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@migueldiaz1111 sounds good, good luck to you there.

[@JeriDro]

RIP clam...

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Pricey decor

[@winooi5012]

My goby chasing another goby until it lost its breath and die , how can I prevent that next time ? Do they actually prefer being the one goby in the tank ?

[@winooi5012]

The only goby

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Yes, you're usually best off having one. Especially in a smaller aquarium. Many fish are particularly territorial and will bully others of the same species or same general shape.

[@eastnjman368]

Never seen a orange one

[@KolkataMarineHobbyist]

Do they eat little ? Online platform is telling that they are easy to care for . Yesterday I have bought a yellow watchman goby. I am giving my fishes a mixture of ( Hikari Marine S , Ocean Nutrition Flake , And Spiriluna flake - in future I will buy frozen mysis shrimp for my goby ). After mixing it with few drop of water - I feed them But most food are eaten by my two clownfish pairs ( one percula clownfish pairs , one yellow belly clownfish pairs ). And My female yellow belly is the alpha of the tank . After the clownfishes go crazy on food , goby is getting little part which is falling near his cave , ...some he is eating later which is on the sand near his cave by taking mouthfuls sand . And the goby is afraid of the female yellow belly . The alpha clown is also bullying the goby little . Goby is still new on tank ( Only 36 hours old ) What you feed them ? And how ? And they don't seem to be fast movers . Lots of extra food is also wasting in attempt to feed the goby . Please reply sir 🙏

[@omarcadenas9]

I have a lawnmower Benny and wanted to add this guy in, would they get alone well?

[@AndyMahnFL411]

I would be very cautious about doing so, particularly in a smaller aquarium. Similar shaped or species of fish have a tendency to not get along in the confines of an aquarium. If you choose to do so, introduce them carefully and keep an eye out for aggression.

[@jakedao8350]

I had one they are living like no relatives so :D. I kept them for a whole week with no fight - Wait more and see. My 2 Blennies , died one for Territory so I think same kind will fight

[@ManhLytheawesome]

I didn't know they sift sand? I've never seen mine sifting sand, Infact I barely seen mine at all, he's always in the cave with the tiger shrimp. 😔

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Indeed they do! How long did it take yours to pair up? Looks like the relationship took precedence to sand sifting in the open.

[@affordableaquariumservices1663]

I just got one. What do you feed your goby? Beautiful fishtank

[@AndyMahnFL411]

It ate most anything, I like to feed a variety of foods, combined with frozen, mysis, pellets, Etc.

[@affordableaquariumservices1663]

@@AndyMahnFL411 thank you

[@jjmccloud]

After bringing mine home and introducing him to the tank (I know no quarantine 😬🙈💀☠) he had these tiny whitish almost fuzzy like spots over his body some looking skin color but most looking white and fuzzy like by the next morning and they were definitely not there before hand. Can't find any info anywhere on it does anyone have any clue

[@MPrz59]

Velvet?

[@chickencr0ssroad883]

My white and the yellow goby lived very well together in the small tank, I put them at different time but never fought

[@AndyMahnFL411]

I'm sure under certain circumstances it can work, although they would be territorial, what was the size of the tank?

[@chickencr0ssroad883]

40 gallons

[@chickencr0ssroad883]

They share the same space

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@chickencr0ssroad883 nice, to your knowledge, were they a pair and did they ever spawn?

[@chickencr0ssroad883]

No they were not a pair, I added them separated by a week or 2

[@Reza-hw1xb]

Are them eating algae?

[@AbsoluteZero6714]

Did they pair up? Do they share a burrow dug by the Pistol Shrimp (assuming you got one).

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Unfortunately the gobies never did. There was some interest between one of the two and the pistol shrimp, but that seemed to be short-lived. I know your mileage will vary when trying to pair up gobies and pistol shrimp.

[@AbsoluteZero6714]

AndyMahnFL411 Ouch sorry to hear that. That must have sucked. So are the two gobies just living separately now? I think you may have stood a better chance had you added both at the same time.

[@fredskolnick1183]

Incidentally I bought 2 from the same tank. The larger is dominant. Like many Reef Fish, They might be opportunistic Hermaphrodites?

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Yes, I do believe the yellow watchman goby has the ability to change its gender.

[@jonathaningham6120]

My pair of watchmans are called lemon and sherbet 🤣🤣🤣

[@AndyMahnFL411]

Nice, I see what you did there. ☺️

[@lightningfrom9396]

is that a p.xenia back there? howre you controlling it

[@AndyMahnFL411]

🤣, yep and you called it. The xenia has since been removed. The pulsating can be relaxing, but xenia can spread like a weed!

[@ultranecromos9915]

The fights reminds me of two mudskippers fighting.

[@AndyMahnFL411]

I just love those mudskipper documentaries, they're just hilarious.

[@ultranecromos9915]

@@AndyMahnFL411 these guys look like mudskippers too

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@ultranecromos9915 absolutely they do. Do you keep them or have you kept them in the past yourself?

[@ultranecromos9915]

@@AndyMahnFL411 I currently have

[@AndyMahnFL411]

@@ultranecromos9915 cool, share your video if you have any.

[@chrisdonohue1607]

Do you still have 2 i doubt that?

[@AndyMahnFL411]

No, no longer, this must have been three years ago.