{"product_id":"yellow-coral-goby-gobiodon-okinawae","title":"Yellow Coral Goby | Gobiodon okinawae","description":"\u003ch2\u003eDescription\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Yellow Coral Goby, also called the Yellow Clown Goby, is a tiny buttercup-yellow reef fish that spends its life perched among the branches of stony corals. It reaches only about 3.5 cm, which makes it one of the smallest fish in the marine hobby and a natural fit for nano aquariums, meaning small tanks of roughly 40 to 75 litres. It sits upright on a branch with an upturned, froggy face, hops from perch to perch and watches everything going on around it. For its size it has a remarkable amount of personality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNatural Habitat\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGobiodon okinawae comes from the western Pacific, from southern Japan and Okinawa down to the southern Great Barrier Reef. It lives in sheltered lagoon reefs, roosting in the outer branches of Acropora corals in loose groups of five to fifteen fish. The coral gives it shelter, a hunting perch and a place to spawn, and it rarely strays far from it. In the aquarium it does best in a mature reef with branching corals, or failing that plenty of rockwork offering small perches and crevices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAppearance\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe body is short, stout and scaleless in an even, bright lemon to golden yellow, with large eyes and the upturned mouth typical of the clown gobies. Like others in the genus it coats its skin in a bitter, mildly toxic mucus that makes it unpleasant to eat, which is its main defence against predators. A healthy fish is alert, perches confidently in the open, carries even colour with no pale or cloudy patches, and has a rounded belly rather than a pinched one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTemperament and Compatibility\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeaceful but timid. The Yellow Coral Goby is no threat to anything else in the tank and largely ignores its tankmates, but it competes poorly for food and is easily bullied or simply beaten to the meal by busier fish. It suits a calm community or nano reef. Several can share a larger tank with plenty of coral, though they will squabble over the best branches. It is safe with ornamental shrimp and other invertebrates.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFeeding\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the wild it is a planktivore, meaning it feeds on the tiny drifting animals in the water column. In the aquarium the small mouth is the thing to plan around. Offer finely sized meaty foods such as enriched baby brine shrimp, cyclops, copepods, finely chopped mysis and small frozen preparations, several times a day if you can. New arrivals often want live food at first and are usually weaned onto small frozen items over a few weeks. A mature tank carrying its own population of copepods makes settling in far easier.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCare Requirements\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAllow a minimum of around 40 litres, with 75 litres or more preferred. Hold the temperature at 24 to 27 degrees Celsius, pH at 8.1 to 8.4 and salinity at 1.020 to 1.026. Branching corals are the preferred home, and gentle to moderate flow with stable water suits it best. Because it is so small and retiring, keep it away from anything large or boisterous enough to eat or harass it. Given a calm setup it is hardy and long lived for a fish of its size.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eBreeding\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis species is a bidirectional protogynous hermaphrodite, which means every fish starts life as a female and can change sex in either direction as circumstances require. When two of the same sex pair up, one will switch, the larger female becoming male or the smaller male becoming female. Eggs are laid in circular bands around a coral branch, in masses of up to a thousand, and the male fertilises and guards them for about five days until they hatch. Pairing and spawning are often seen in the aquarium, though raising the tiny larvae calls for dedicated systems and live foods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSpecies Information\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eScientific Name\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGobiodon okinawae\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCommon Name\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eYellow Coral Goby (Yellow Clown Goby)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWestern Pacific, southern Japan to the southern Great Barrier Reef\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaximum Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3.5 cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifespan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e4-6 years with good care\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTemperament\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePeaceful but timid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDifficulty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eIntermediate\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMinimum Tank Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e40 L\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRecommended Tank Size\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e75 L or larger\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDiet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCarnivore; small meaty foods, often live at first\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWater Temperature\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24-27°C\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003epH Range\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e8.1-8.4\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGH Range\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot applicable for marine fish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSalinity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1.020-1.026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSuitable For\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNano and mature reef aquariums\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReef Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReef safe (may nip a few SPS polyps when spawning)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePlant Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot applicable\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSuitable Tank Mates\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuitable tank mates include other small, peaceful reef fish such as small clownfish, firefish, dartfish, small wrasses, other clown gobies and calm nano reef species, along with corals and ornamental shrimp.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAvoid Keeping With\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAvoid keeping with larger predatory or aggressive fish such as hawkfish, dottybacks, larger wrasses, groupers and lionfish that may eat or bully it, and with very boisterous fish that will outcompete it at feeding time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick's Aquarium Oceanarium Terrarium","offers":[{"title":"Small (1-5cm) \/ Imported","offer_id":55522109817123,"sku":"AA5012-S-IMP","price":41.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/nicksaquariumoceanariumterrarium.com.au\/products\/yellow-coral-goby-gobiodon-okinawae","provider":"Nicks AOT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}