kevcarroll
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2026
- Messages
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- What state or country do you live in
- California
Hey everyone,
I’m hoping someone here might have some insight into a strange issue I’ve been having with my yellow watchman gobies. I’ve now had two different gobies exhibit the exact same behavior, and unfortunately, the first one ended up dying.
Both gobies initially seemed perfectly healthy. They would spend days hanging out in their burrow with my pistol shrimp, eating normally, occasionally coming out to watch what’s going on, and then retreating back into their burrow.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I’ll find them swimming at the very top of the tank near the waterline. Eventually, they end up near my powerhead or getting pulled toward the filtration intake.
When I catch it in time, I’ll carefully remove the goby from the filtration area and return him to the display. He’ll usually swim right back to his burrow and behave completely normally again for several days before repeating the same behavior.
Unfortunately, my first goby eventually died because I didn’t discover him in the filtration system until it was too late.
Now my second goby is doing the exact same thing, and I’m really struggling to understand what’s causing it.
Tank Information
The strangest part is that both gobies have followed the exact same pattern.
They’ll behave completely normally for days, eating and living in their burrow with the pistol shrimp, and then suddenly I’ll find them hanging out at the surface.
They don’t appear to be constantly struggling or getting blown around by the current. In fact, I’ve found my current goby literally perched on top of my powerhead just below the waterline (see attached photo).
My powerhead and return pump are both running at relatively low settings, so I wouldn’t think excessive flow would be the issue.
I’m starting to wonder whether there’s something environmental going on that I’m overlooking.
Has anyone experienced anything similar with yellow watchman gobies?
Could this be related to oxygen levels, water chemistry, stress, or something else entirely?
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who’s had a goby repeatedly leave its burrow and swim near the surface despite otherwise behaving normally.
I’ve attached a photo showing exactly where I keep finding him.
I’d really appreciate any advice. I don’t want to lose another goby, and I’d like to figure out what’s causing this before it happens again.
Thanks in advance!
I’m hoping someone here might have some insight into a strange issue I’ve been having with my yellow watchman gobies. I’ve now had two different gobies exhibit the exact same behavior, and unfortunately, the first one ended up dying.
Both gobies initially seemed perfectly healthy. They would spend days hanging out in their burrow with my pistol shrimp, eating normally, occasionally coming out to watch what’s going on, and then retreating back into their burrow.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I’ll find them swimming at the very top of the tank near the waterline. Eventually, they end up near my powerhead or getting pulled toward the filtration intake.
When I catch it in time, I’ll carefully remove the goby from the filtration area and return him to the display. He’ll usually swim right back to his burrow and behave completely normally again for several days before repeating the same behavior.
Unfortunately, my first goby eventually died because I didn’t discover him in the filtration system until it was too late.
Now my second goby is doing the exact same thing, and I’m really struggling to understand what’s causing it.
Tank Information
- Tank: 15-gallon HelloReef AIO
- Powerhead: LSLW-10 sine driver (running at low speed)
- Return pump: Running at a relatively low setting
- Temperature: Constant 76°F
- Salinity: 1.026
- Ammonia: 0 ppm
- Nitrite: 0.19 ppm
- pH: 8.1
- 2 paired clownfish (they don’t bother the goby)
- 1 yellow watchman goby
- 1 pistol shrimp (paired with the goby)
- 1 bubble tip anemone
- A few soft corals
- 3 hermit crabs
- 2 Nassarius (zombie) snails
- 2 turbo snails
The strangest part is that both gobies have followed the exact same pattern.
They’ll behave completely normally for days, eating and living in their burrow with the pistol shrimp, and then suddenly I’ll find them hanging out at the surface.
They don’t appear to be constantly struggling or getting blown around by the current. In fact, I’ve found my current goby literally perched on top of my powerhead just below the waterline (see attached photo).
My powerhead and return pump are both running at relatively low settings, so I wouldn’t think excessive flow would be the issue.
I’m starting to wonder whether there’s something environmental going on that I’m overlooking.
Has anyone experienced anything similar with yellow watchman gobies?
Could this be related to oxygen levels, water chemistry, stress, or something else entirely?
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who’s had a goby repeatedly leave its burrow and swim near the surface despite otherwise behaving normally.
I’ve attached a photo showing exactly where I keep finding him.
I’d really appreciate any advice. I don’t want to lose another goby, and I’d like to figure out what’s causing this before it happens again.
Thanks in advance!
