Wheeler's Shrimp Goby

With broad burgundy-red bands crossing its whitish body and small blue spots scattered over its head and body, Wheeler's shrimp goby is one of the most colorful shrimp gobies. It takes its name from sharing the burrow it digs in the sand with a pistol shrimp (Alpheus): the shrimp digs and cleans the burrow, while the sharp-eyed goby keeps watch at the burrow mouth and warns the shrimp of danger.

It is distinguished from Randall's shrimp goby (Amblyeleotris randalli), which has its own page on this site, by its broader, darker red bands and by the absence of an eyespot on its dorsal fin. It reaches about 8–10 cm. The specimens sold are wild-caught; it is timid in the first days, but once settled in it is a hardy fish.

It lives in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Fiji, on rubble areas near reefs, coastal sand slopes and in deep lagoons. It is mostly found at depths of 5–15 meters, most often together with the pistol shrimp species Alpheus ochrostriatus. It sits at the burrow mouth all day and catches small crustaceans that pass by.

• Volume: At least 100 liters for one fish (and its shrimp); a wide footprint is important.
• Water: Salinity specific gravity 1.023–1.026, pH 8.1–8.4, temperature 24–27°C.
• Substrate: At least 7–8 cm deep, a mix of fine sand and small rubble. Place rocks directly on the glass, not on top of the sand.
• Lid: When frightened it can dart out of its burrow and jump out of the aquarium; a lid is essential.
• Reef compatibility: Reef-safe; it leaves corals, shrimp and snails alone.

Carnivorous. Frozen mysis, brine shrimp, copepods and finely chopped seafood should be the staple; it also accepts small sinking granules. Get the food close to its burrow; the shrimp also takes a share of this food. Offer small amounts twice a day.

Peaceful and timid. It defends its burrow against its own kind and similar shrimp gobies. When paired with a shrimp it behaves much more boldly and stays visible all day.

Good companions: Clownfish, firefish, cardinalfish, blennies, royal gramma, calm wrasses, cleaner shrimp.

Avoid: Hawkfish, dottybacks, lionfish and predators that can fit it in their mouths; other shrimp gobies that would take over its burrow.

Kept singly or as a mated pair. The most natural sight is one goby with one pistol shrimp; in the aquarium it also pairs with similar pistol shrimp such as Alpheus randalli. Because they fight over burrows, keep more than one shrimp goby species together in the same aquarium only with a very large footprint.

The pair lays its eggs inside the burrow and guards them. Spawning is occasionally seen in the aquarium, but because the fry are planktonic and very small, raising them is rarely successful.

• New specimens are sensitive to shipping stress; watch their feeding in quarantine.
• Marine white spot and velvet: Quarantine period of 3–4 weeks.
• Jumping out of the aquarium is one of the most common causes of death in this species.

There is no reliable external difference. The belly of a female carrying eggs becomes noticeably fuller; two paired individuals use the burrow together.