WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Yellowline Goby

Elacatinus horsti

Also known as: Cleaner Goby, Gudgeon, Neon Goby, Sponge Goby, Yellowstripe Neon Goby

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2015
Adult
@JolineCuracao · Curaçao - Caracasbaai, Curaçao · May 20201 / 4
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Overview

Found singly, or in pairs, always living in association with tube sponges or massive sponges. Difficult to approach!
They feed on benthic invertebrates, plankton, but mainly the parasitic worm Haplosyllis spongicola, that lives in large numbers on their host sponges.

Cleaner gobies stay around "cleaning stations" where they wait around for fish to come along to be cleaned by removing ectoparasites from their bodies.

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How to identify

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

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Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Western Central Atlantic, Caribbean
  • Country only · 4
LIVES IN

Found singly, or in pairs, always living in association with tube sponges or massive sponges.

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Adult photos 4

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Discussion 1

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1 comment

  • JolineCuracao· 27 Jun 2020

    I am wondering if these bigger fishes are yellowline gobies too, since they are a lot bigger than the other ones (the big ones are around 3 inches)

ALL STAGES
FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderGobiiformes
  5. familyGobiidae
  6. genusElacatinus
  7. speciesElacatinus horsti (Metzelaar, 1922)

SourcesWoRMSFishBase

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More in the family

Gobies (Gobiidae)