Diamond Watchman Goby

The Diamond Watchman Goby (Valenciennea puellaris) has a pale body marked with orange spots and spends much of its time working along the aquarium bottom. It takes mouthfuls of sand while searching for food and uses shallow burrows as shelter.

Choose this fish for an established aquarium with an appropriate sand bed and room for its bottom-dwelling behaviour. Its feeding strategy differs from that of a goby that waits at a shrimp burrow, so plan the substrate and feeding routine around a sand-sifting species.

Offer frequent small portions of suitable carnivore foods, including mysis and other small marine foods that reach the bottom. Sand movement is not proof that it is finding enough nutrition. Diamond gobies may defend territory against their own species; confirm compatibility before attempting to keep more than one.