is a positive id required?

[rusticfox]

Picked this up at the same time as the lion, figured it'd be a good little cleaner for after her, and also to sift through the sand as both tanks rely on it for filtration. Got it as a sand goby, but it's looking more like a juvenile fluxeon goby (Ambylygobius phalaena) to me now, anyone got any thoughts on this little fella?

[rusticfox]

No tail spots, so maybe another family member, or do they develop later on?

[brunobear]

Never seen a fish like this before, looks pretty cool though, any chance it's a juvenile and the spots develop later on?

[flame9x]

I'm stumped here. Valenciennea strigata's a possibility, but I'm not convinced. No strong feelings either way, just a hunch it might not be the one.

[buzzbee]

Just picked one up over the weekend, was told it's a watcher goby, but thanks to rileyon, it's been identified as either Amblygobius bynoensis - the Whitespot head goby - or Amblygobius stethophthalmus - the Head-stripe goby. Same fish, I think. Check this out: http/www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/ver...hophthalmus.htm

[rustyfox9]

Link's not working, Zip Zap

[rusticfox]

Thanks buzzbee, I'll check those out now and see if anything matches up.

[rusticfox]

Think I'm going with A stethophthalmus, thanks again for the ID, really appreciate it.

[bould]

TMC actually sell these as Watchman Gobies, but here's the thing... they also sell the real deal, proper Watchman gobies, and they're a lot darker if I recall.

[florix9]

from my experience, i've mostly seen them referred to as fluxeon gobies, with the scientific name being Amblygobius phalaena. personally, i think they're great at what they do, and they're really good at sifting sand - like all sand sifters, though, they do tend to move a lot of sand and small stuff around.

found a couple of links with some more info on them, since wikipedia doesn't have much - http/www.DeepB23shop.com/product_i...;products_id=99 and http/www.reefclassroom.com/fluxeon-goby