Starry Goby

The Starry Goby is a charming small species adorned with a constellation of iridescent teal-blue spots scattered across its dark brown to olive body, giving it the appearance of a miniature night sky — an apt inspiration for its common name. These sparkling spots extend across the head, body, and fins, and are particularly vibrant under blue or actinic aquarium lighting. At just 2 inches maximum, this goby is an ideal candidate for nano and small reef aquariums.

In the wild, the Starry Goby inhabits sheltered reef zones, rubble fields, and seagrass beds throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is a secretive species that spends much of its time in small burrows or crevices among rock and rubble, emerging to forage on tiny benthic invertebrates. This burrow-dwelling habit makes it a fascinating species to observe in the home aquarium, where it will establish a preferred hiding spot and gradually become bolder as it acclimates to its surroundings.

Captive-bred Starry Gobies have been produced by Biota Marine Life, making this previously obscure species more accessible to hobbyists. Captive-bred individuals are hardier and more willing to accept prepared foods than their wild-caught counterparts. The Starry Goby is completely reef-safe and ignores corals and invertebrates. Its peaceful nature and small size make it compatible with virtually any non-predatory community reef setup.