Watchman goby changing colors

[Sharkman7]

Has anybody know why or have a watchman goby that has changed colors? Mine used to be vibrant yellow for a couple years but in last few months has changed and wasn’t sure if something was wrong or this is normal.he is some before and now shots, thanks for any info.....

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Mine has dulled out over the last two years as well.

 

[Mykawl]

Some fish are known to lose color with age not sure if yellow watchman is one of those, I notice mine going dark and stripes exactly like your when hiding. He is new in tank but as he starts to swim in the open (I’m guessing getting comfortable) he will turn bright yellow quickly like seconds or minutes. My blue damsals do this too maybe someone with a really old one will chime in on if they lose color with age but yours might not be liking something or uncomfortable

Over how much time did he start to darken?

 

[little_sardines]

Mine lost its bright yellow after a couple years too - looks just like your pictures. He's been fine though, close to 8 years old. My guess is its just an age thing.

 

[Chessmanmark]

After a lot of good years my shrimp goby died two weeks ago. He looked just like your pictures. It was bright yellow when it was young and looked more “brownish” with stripes in the end.

I added a pistol shrimp over a year ago and they instantly hit it off. I can tell the shrimp misses his buddy.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

It also could be the result of having a captive diet.

 

[Sharkman7]

Some fish are known to lose color with age not sure if yellow watchman is one of those, I notice mine going dark and stripes exactly like your when hiding. He is new in tank but as he starts to swim in the open (I’m guessing getting comfortable) he will turn bright yellow quickly like seconds or minutes. My blue damsals do this too maybe someone with a really old one will chime in on if they lose color with age but yours might not be liking something or uncomfortable

Over how much time did he start to darken?

I have had him for several years and I think his color started to dull a few month back and recently started to get that banded look and even a mustache lol.I do feed a wide spectrum of foods and he even goes after nori. One think that changed was the loss of the pistol shrimp last year.also wondered if it was changing sex.

 

[Mykawl]

I was trying to look into if gobys changes sex but couldn’t confirm anything is it common or okay to keep them in pairs?

 

[OpenOcean33]

Has anybody know why or have a watchman goby that has changed colors? Mine used to be vibrant yellow for a couple years but in last few months has changed and wasn’t sure if something was wrong or this is normal.he is some before and now shots, thanks for any info.....

Did it occur over time slowly or over night? it almost looks like stress colors but it could be the shadows on him in the second picture. My Midas blend would go full on stripped in black and pale yellow when I would clean around his hide away in the tank.

 

[Sharkman7]

I was trying to look into if gobys changes sex but couldn’t confirm anything is it common or okay to keep them in pairs?

Here is a article that I found on them, pretty interesting I think, might try and see about pairing him up with another one.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/ft/index.php

 

[Chessmanmark]

From this article -
“In what I have seen of this fish, I believe they are sexually dichromatic, meaning that the male and female are different in color. With every pair that I've seen, the male is bright yellow while the female is grayish, with both having blue dots along their body. But what makes this confusing is that I have seen this fish change color in both directions. Does this mean that they are changing gender as well? I do not know. After the babies settle out and metamorphose, they are yellow. Then, as they grow over the next few months, most of the largest ones will change to the female coloration. From a few people who we have sold these fish to, we have reports that some changed back to yellow after they received them.”

 

[Sharkman7]

From this article -
“In what I have seen of this fish, I believe they are sexually dichromatic, meaning that the male and female are different in color. With every pair that I've seen, the male is bright yellow while the female is grayish, with both having blue dots along their body. But what makes this confusing is that I have seen this fish change color in both directions. Does this mean that they are changing gender as well? I do not know. After the babies settle out and metamorphose, they are yellow. Then, as they grow over the next few months, most of the largest ones will change to the female coloration. From a few people who we have sold these fish to, we have reports that some changed back to yellow after they received them.”

Well one thing I guess sounds like a positive is at least it’s not necessarily a health issue...