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Valenciennea puellaris
The Maiden Goby (otherwise known as Orange-dashed Goby, Diamond Spot Goby and other names) always occurs in pairs, and are known to be monogamous. It grows to a length of about 16 to 20cm.
This prawn goby inhabits sandy areas of clear lagoon and seaward reefs, and uses burrows as refuge. Found in pairs swimming close together near their holes, on rubble bottoms of reef margins, at depths of 8 to 25m. These gobies are monogamous.
These fish looked like they were eating sand, but I noticed that after gulping a mouthful, they would eject the sand through their gills. I suppose they filter the sand for edibles. Spotted this pair at a depth of about 6m, on a coral reef's sandy ledge.
Thanks for the tip, jgorneau, but the markings of A. guttata seem different -- this one doesn't have those black stripes near the head that is present in your suggested goby. Also, it looks like A. guttata doesn't have the orange longitudinal line which my gobies have. What do you think?
Spotted on Feb 18, 2012
Submitted on Feb 18, 2012
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