Yellow Watchman Goby
Cryptocentrus cinctus
A hardy, reef-safe sand goby that famously shares a burrow with a pistol shrimp, and one of the best beginner marine fish.
Ideal Conditions
- Temperature
- 23 – 27 °C
- pH range
- 8.1 – 8.4
- Salinity
- 1.023 – 1.026 SG
- Adult size
- 7 – 10 cm
- Min. tank size
- 80 litres+
- Lifespan
- 4 – 6 years
- Diet
- Carnivore — mysis, brine shrimp and small frozen foods
- Water flow
- Low to moderate
- Preferred setup
- Deep sand bed with rubble and rock for burrow construction
About the Yellow Watchman Goby
Yellow Watchman Gobies spend their time on and just above the sand, guarding a burrow. Paired with a pistol shrimp they produce one of the most watchable behaviours available in a home reef, and they are undemanding in a modest system.
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Where Yellow Watchman Goby comes from
Native range
Western Pacific, Indo-Pacific
Countries / regions
Indonesia, Philippines, Japan
Habitat
Sheltered sandy and rubble lagoon floors, in burrows often shared with alpheid shrimp.
Illustrative native range only, not an occurrence dataset.
Similar species
Royal Gramma
Gramma loreto
Diamond Goby
Valenciennea puellaris
We’re adding more full species guides as the catalogue grows.
Compatible tank mates
Reviewed guidance based on this species' recorded traits.
- Great
Royal Gramma
Gramma loreto
Cave dweller with no interest in the open sand the goby occupies.
- Great
Pistol Shrimp
Alpheus randalli
Forms a genuine symbiotic partnership: the shrimp digs, the goby watches for danger.
- Great
Yellow Tang
Zebrasoma flavescens
Completely different niche, with no recorded conflict.
- Compatible with caution
Six Line Wrasse
Pseudocheilinus hexataenia
A pushy wrasse can harass a goby at feeding time in a small tank.
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