Yellow Clown Goby

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Gobiodon okinawae

The Yellow Clown Goby, also known as the Okinawa Goby, makes a wonderful and easy to care for addition. The citron goby spends most of it's time laying about corals and in the wild can be found commonly on the reefs in the Western Pacific Ocean, from Southern Japan to Australia. They are a peaceful fish and are a great addition to any community reef. Best kept with other peaceful species, the Yellow Clown Goby will typically only become aggressive towards its own kind in a small tank.

Those keeping Acropora corals should use caution as the Yellow Clown Goby can feed on the mucous polyps of Acropora in the wild. Although widely considered as "Reef Safe", we recommend caution. Although rare, the clown goby may cause damage in any SPS Dominated reef that contains Acropora that are not of sufficient size such as smaller coral frags.

If a mated pair of Yellow Clown Gobies are kept, it is possible and indeed even common for them to spawn in the aquarium. An Acropora keeper should be aware that they lay their eggs on the underside of the coral's branch which will lead to tissue recession.

As with all marine fish, they benefit from a varied diet of vitamin enriched foods. The Yellow Clown Goby's diet should consist of a variety of meaty foods such as brine shrimp, mysis shrimp or other frozen preparations. Over time, Yellow Clown Gobies may acclimate to high-quality flake foods.

Gobies will also benefit greatly from live phytoplankton which is readily available to them in the wild.