Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Vanderhorstia

Vanderhorstia mertensi

Klausewitz, 1974

Merten’s Shrimp Goby

Likely Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea and Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef.

Size: 5 inches (11 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoon sandy and muddy bottom areas is found in the burrow of Alpheus spp. shrimp and usually seen at depths between 6 - 30 feet (2 - 10 m) where it feeds on zooplankton and small crustaceans.

General Husbandry: Not normally collected for the trade.

Taxonomy:

    Order: Perciformes

    Suborder: Gobioidei

    Family: Gobiidae

    Genus: Vanderhorstia

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

Difficult to identify because they come from a wide range, i.e., East Africa to the Indo-West Pacific and have amazing geographical color variations.

 Vanderhorstia mertensi (Merten’s Shrimp Goby)
Photo © Tristan Lougher
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