Goby divorce?

GarrettT · Jun 27, 2021

So I got a pair of wheeler gobies about 2 weeks ago. They have been inseparable from one another. Two days ago, I added a tiger pistol shrimp and now I see one goby with the shrimp while the other goby is by himself on the other side of the tank. Is this common behavior?

Karen00 · Jun 27, 2021

Aren't these a shrimp goby? I would think this is normal behavior. The goby that has been left out might need its own shrimp to pair up with. I'm not an expert in these gobies so I will defer to people with more experience but I would say this is normal.

GarrettT · Jun 27, 2021

I just figured as a paired goby, they would remain together with the shrimp

coralfishreef · Jun 27, 2021

This is common behavior for both of my shrimp goby pairs. The smaller goby almost always sticks with the shrimp and the larger goby sits out front. I usually see the smaller goby barely poking out of the burrow, guarding the shrimp and the larger goby outside of the burrow somewhere. Or, I don’t see the smaller goby at all until it’s feeding time.

And sometimes they are side by side together or in close proximity. Sometimes one is in front at one burrow entrance out and the other on the far side of the tank at another burrow entrance.

Karen00 · Jun 27, 2021

coralfishreef said:
This is common behavior for both of my shrimp goby pairs. The smaller goby almost always sticks with the shrimp and the larger goby sits out front. I usually see the smaller goby barely poking out of the burrow, guarding the shrimp and the larger goby outside of the burrow somewhere. Or, I don’t see the smaller goby at all until it’s feeding time.

And sometimes they are side by side together or in close proximity. Sometimes one is in front at one burrow entrance out and the other on the far side of the tank at another burrow entrance.

Those are such beautiful gobies!!

GarrettT · Jun 28, 2021

Unfortunately for me, the other goby is on the other side of the tank way from it's previous pair.

coralfishreef · Jun 28, 2021

It shouldn’t be a problem. They’re most likely still paired even if they’re separated. For both of my goby pairs, 1 of the gobies will almost constantly be near or right next to the shrimp. The other one does what it wants to do which could be exploring the other side of the tank or staying in close proximity. I see it as the smaller goby guarding the shrimp and the larger goby guarding the smaller goby from further away.

That photo was atypical. Neither of my 2 pairs are typically side by side like that. For one of the pairs, the gobies are separated the majority of the time. That pair has tunnels and burrows that go from one end of the tank (36”) to the other end.