Say hello to the little Gobies in the dark sands of Lembeh. We have literally hundreds of species of Goby in Indonesia and quite often, these little guys can be overlooked.There are over 2000 species of Gobies throughout the world. Probably not on your list of critters to search for when in Lembeh but the Goby is certainly not to be ignored.
You will quite often find the sand dwelling Goby accompanied by a small Shrimp. These guys have what we call a mutualistic relationship, meaning organisms from two different species live together and benefit from each other. The Shrimp, who is blind, builds and maintains the home while the Goby protects the Shrimp by looking out and warning the Shrimp of any danger.
Most species of Goby grow to approximately 10 centimeters in length, however, the largest species of Goby can grow up to 30 centimeters. They are carnivorous and like to eat Parasites, eggs, Plankton, and Mussels. Their natural predators are larger Fish but some are hunted by humans for the aquarium trade. The lifespan of a Goby is anywhere from one to ten years.
This lovely photo was taken by our guests, Kev and Sim. As with all our critters here in Lembeh, they are extremely photogenic and with patience, as they are very timid, you can get some really nice shots of these interesting little creatures.
Other cool critters spotted in Lembeh this week were the Mimic Octopus, Blue Ringed Octopus, Ribbon Eels, Snake Eels and much many Shrimp, Nudibranchs, and Crabs.
We said farewell to our Divemaster Candidate, Jaimie this week and welcomed guests from Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
Happy Bubbles!