Common name: Randall's Goby, Randalli Goby, Randall Goby, Randall's Shrimp Goby, Orange Stripe Prawn Gob
Scientific name: Amblyeleotris randalli
Max size: 4 in / 10 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

Randall's shrimp goby is a very beautiful goby that has a white body with orange stripes across it and a spot on the dorsal fin. In the wild, these fishes live in a symbiotic relationship with shrimps. The fish will share the same burrow as one or several Alpheus shrimps (aka snapping shrimps). The shrimps are almost blind and need the goby to keep an eye out for predators. Randall's shrimp goby on the other hand needs a hiding place and benefits from living in the burrow excavated by the shrimp.

Randall's shrimp goby is easy to care for and well suited for a life in aquariums; it is even common for this species to spawn in aquariums. Randall's shrimp goby is suitable for beginners due to its hardy nature and how well it adapts to aquarium environments. It is also easy to feed and friendly towards most other fish. It can be kept with other small friendly fish but should never be kept with aggressive fish such as triggers and basses. Randall's shrimp goby can be aggressive towards other similar bottom dwelling species. It will also defend its hiding place aggressively towards any fish that tries to enter it.

Randall's shrimp goby likes to be kept with Alpheus shrimps in aquariums, but it can be kept without shrimps as well. The shrimps are not necessary for the wellbeing of the goby in an aquarium as long as the fish is provided with a lot of hiding places.

Randall's shrimp goby originates from the western part of the Pacific Ocean and are primarily collected in the waters surrounding Indonesia. 

Randall's Shrimp Goby care and aquarium setup:

If you want to keep a Randall's shrimp goby alone in an aquarium a 10 gallon / 40 L aquarium is enough, but if you want to keep other fish as well or several Randall's shrimp goby I recommend an aquarium of at least 30 gallon / 120 L. The aquarium should be decorated with a lot of hiding places and plenty of free area to swim in. The fish gets very stressed if it isn't provided with enough hiding places. It prefers a deep bed of sand and gravel.(If you keep Alpheus shrimps in the tank they will build a burrow for themselves and the goby in the sand bed. Randall's shrimp gobies can however be kept without a deep bed or any bottom substrate at all for that matter. They are good jumpers and it is important to keep the tank well covered. They can be kept and does well in reef aquariums but are not 100% reef safe as they might eat small ornamental shrimps and other small invertebrates.

Ideal water conditions for Randall's shrimp gobies are pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025 and water temperature 72-78ºF (22-26°C).

Feeding Randall's Shrimp Goby

Randall's Shrimp Goby is a carnivore and should be provided with a high protein diet in the aquarium. It is easy to feed and will accept a wide variety of different food types including flake food and pellets. It is important to give your fish a varied diet. A good diet can be based around sinking shrimp pellets that are complemented with chopped sea food and frozen food. Feed at least two times a day.

Breeding Randall's Shrimp Goby

Randall's shrimp goby can be breed in aquariums and can under good conditions spawn in the regular holding tank. They are egg layers and keeping them with snapping shrimps seem to increase the chance of spawning but is not mandatory. If you want to breed Randall's shrimp goby it is important that you keep the water quality high and stable and that you reduce stress in the tank as much as possible. Randall's shrimp goby fry are small and need to be feed small food.

Goby Articles:

Orangespotted Shrimp Goby – Amblyeleotris guttata
Pinkspotted Shrimp Goby – Cryptocentrus leptocephalus
Yellow Clown Goby – Gobiodon okinawae
Yellow Watchman Goby – Cyrptocentrus cinctus