Rainford's goby
Koumansetta rainfordi
Also known as: Old glory, Old glory goby, Court Jester goby
This little goby is a tiny striped hoverer that spends its day scooting between rock crevices and pecking at the sand and micro-stuff on the rocks. In the right setup its a super chill, reef-safe character fish, but the big trick is keeping it well-fed in a mature tank so it doesnt slowly waste away.
Rainford's goby exhibits vibrant blue and yellow coloration, with distinct elongated fins and a streamlined body adapted for reef habitats.
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Quick Facts
Size
8.5 cm
Temperament
Peaceful
Difficulty
Intermediate
Min Tank Size
20 gallons
Lifespan
5-7 years
Origin
Western Pacific (Indo-Pacific)
Diet
Omnivore - lots of grazing on filamentous algae and microfauna; supplement with small frozen foods (mysis, brine) and quality prepared foods
Care Notes
- Give Rainford's goby a mature tank with a real sandbed (fine sand) and lots of rock nooks - they spend their day hopping around picking at the sand and hiding when spooked.
- Keep it in reef-like numbers: 1.024-1.026 salinity, 76-80F, pH around 8.1-8.4, and low nitrate/phosphate; they get cranky fast in dirty water and sudden parameter swings.
- They can be picky at first, so start with small foods like enriched brine, mysis, copepods, and finely chopped seafood; feed small amounts more often instead of one big dump.
- If it ignores frozen, target feed with a pipette near its favorite perch and let it see the food moving - once it learns, it usually takes prepared foods reliably.
- Peaceful tankmates only: other small gobies, clowns, cardinals, and calm wrasses are fine; skip aggressive dottybacks, big wrasses, hawkfish, and anything that will outcompete it at mealtime.
- Watch for bullying from other sand-perchers (esp. other Rainford's or similar gobies) unless the tank is larger with multiple hiding zones; one per small tank is the easy route.
- Common fail is slow starvation in newer tanks - if your sand/rocks are sterile and it is shy at feeding time, add pods and keep up frequent small feedings.
- They can jump when startled, so run a lid or mesh top; you'll never see it coming until you find it on the floor.
Compatibility
Good Tankmates
- Small, peaceful clowns like ocellaris or percula clownfish - they mostly do their own thing in the water column and wont hassle a shy sand-sifter
- Firefish (Nemateleotris) - calm, non-competitive eaters if you feed a couple spots, and they dont mess with gobies on the sand
- Small flasher or fairy wrasses (Paracheilinus or Cirrhilabrus) - active but generally polite, and they ignore the Rainford hanging around the bottom
- Peaceful reef-safe blennies like a tailspot blenny - similar vibe, no bully energy, and they usually each claim their own little hangout
- Chill shrimp and small clean-up crew like cleaner shrimp and small hermits/snails - Rainfords are more into picking at sand and film than hunting big prey
- Small, peaceful cardinals like banggai or pajama cardinals - mellow midwater fish that wont crowd the goby at feeding time
Avoid
- Dottybacks (especially neon or orchid) - they can be little terrors in a small tank and will chase a Rainford that wants to stay near the rocks and sand edge
- Hawkfish - they perch and pounce, and even if they dont eat the goby, they can stress it out and definitely will go after shrimp tank mates
- Big or bossy wrasses (like many Halichoeres, and most Coris types) - constant movement and bold feeding can keep a Rainford hiding and underfed
- Triggers and larger aggressive fish (triggers, big angels, bigger dottybacks) - too pushy, too bitey, and a small bottom goby is an easy target
Where they come from
Rainford's goby (Koumansetta rainfordi) shows up around the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea, hanging out on sandy patches next to rubble and low rock. In the wild they're basically little lawnmowers that stay close to the bottom, picking at microalgae and tiny critters all day.
That background matters because a brand-new, squeaky-clean tank doesn't have much for them to graze on. A mature tank with some "life" on the rocks and sand makes this fish way easier.
Setting up their tank
Think sand, rubble, and lots of little hideouts. Mine spent most of its time doing short hops between caves and the sandbed, then popping out to graze. If your aquascape is all bare rock pillars with no nooks, they tend to stay stressed and invisible.
- Tank size: 20-30 gallons is workable for one, bigger is nicer if you want a busy community
- Sandbed: fine sand helps because they sift and peck constantly
- Rockwork: stable rock with small caves and overhangs right near the sand
- Flow: moderate is fine, but give them calmer pockets near the bottom
- Lighting: whatever your reef runs, but expect them to graze more if you have some algae film and micro growth
- Cover: a lid helps - they can hop, especially if spooked
I have the best luck adding Rainford's to a tank that's been running a few months and has visible film algae and pods. They act way bolder and start eating prepared foods faster.
Watch your sand-stirring crew. A super aggressive sand-sifter (big conchs, tons of nassarius, sand-sifting stars, some gobies) can outcompete them and strip the sand of the tiny stuff they graze on.
What to feed them
This is the part that makes them "intermediate." A lot of Rainford's come in skinny, and some ignore big chunky foods at first. Once settled, many will eat frozen readily, but you still want to think of them as constant pickers that do better with frequent small offerings.
- Frozen: mysis (small), brine (better if enriched), finely chopped krill, calanus, copepod blends
- Small meaty: finely chopped clam or shrimp, roe if you can get it
- Prepared: tiny pellets and flakes can work once they recognize food, but don't rely on this at the start
- Natural grazing: pods, microfauna, and algae film on rock and sand
Target feeding helps. Use a pipette and gently "rain" food onto the sand near where the goby is grazing. They often ignore food in the water column but will grab it off the bottom.
If your tank has fast eaters (wrasses, anthias, clowns that act like piranhas), Rainford's can get outcompeted. I feed a small cloud for the water column fish first, then sneak in a second round right to the bottom for the goby.
How they behave and who they get along with
They're peaceful, a little shy at first, and kind of endearing once they settle in. You'll see them "walk" on the sand and do quick darting runs between cover. Most of the time they're minding their own business, grazing and picking.
- Good tankmates: other peaceful reef fish, small clowns, cardinals, firefish (in calmer tanks), blennies that aren't jerks, most inverts
- Use caution with: boisterous wrasses, dottybacks, hawkfish, and anything that pins them into hiding
- Same species: can fight unless you have a bonded pair and enough space/hiding spots
They can be bullied off the sandbed. If your goby vanishes for days and starts looking pinched, assume it's not getting food or it's being harassed, even if you never see an obvious fight.
Reef-safe-wise, mine never bothered corals. They will sit on the sand next to LPS and pick at the ground around them, but they aren't coral nippers in my experience.
Breeding tips
They can spawn in captivity, but raising the babies is the hard part. Adults are cave spawners. If you keep a compatible pair, you'll sometimes notice them sharing a burrow or tight cave and doing a bit of "housekeeping" around it.
- Give them options: small caves and rubble pockets right on the sand
- Keep them well-fed: frequent small meals seems to help conditioning
- If they spawn: eggs are typically guarded in the cave, larvae go pelagic
- Raising fry: you'll need a separate larval setup and live foods (rotifers, then tiny copepods) - not a casual project
If your goal is just to keep the adult happy, don't stress about breeding. A stable tank and steady feeding will give you all the cool behavior without turning your fish room into a plankton lab.
Common problems to watch for
- Slow starvation: the big one. They look "fine" until they don't. Watch the belly and the area behind the head for that pinched look.
- Food competition: aggressive eaters steal everything before it reaches the sand.
- New tank syndrome: tanks without pods and algae film make them harder to get established.
- Jumping: especially right after introduction or if chased.
- Ich/velvet sensitivity: like many small reef fish, they can get hit fast if a parasite makes it into the system.
A quick health check I do: if the goby is out grazing during the day and the belly looks gently rounded (not hollow), you're probably on the right track. If it's hiding constantly and looks skinny, change something now - more target feeding, less competition, more natural grazing.
If you can, quarantine and get them eating before they go into the main tank. Not every Rainford's will take pellets on day one, but once they connect "pipette to food" they usually settle into a routine pretty nicely.
Similar Species
Other marine peaceful species you might be interested in.
Banggai Cardinalfish
Pterapogon kauderni
Banggai cardinals just sort of hover like little underwater satellites, and the bold black bars with those long, polka-dotted fins look unreal under reef lighting. They're super chill most of the time, but once a pair forms you'll see real "fish drama," and the male will even mouthbrood the babies like a champ.
Blueband goby
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This is that classic gold/yellow-headed sand-sifting goby with the little blue cheek stripe-always busy, always rearranging your sandbed. In a reef tank it'll spend the day taking mouthfuls of sand, filtering out tiny critters/foods, then "snowing" clean sand back out, and it'll usually claim a burrow area (often as a pair in the wild). It's super cool behavior-wise, but you really do need a mature tank with a proper sandbed and a lid because they can jump.
Bristletail Filefish (Aiptasia-Eating Filefish)
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This little weirdo is one of my favorites because it's got that goofy filefish "face," a knack for wedging itself into rockwork, and a ton of personality once it settles in. People love them for the chance they'll snack on nuisance Aiptasia, but even when they're not on pest patrol they're just fun to watch cruise around and pick at stuff all day.
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Diamond Watchman Goby
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This is that sand-sifting goby you'll see cruising the bottom, taking huge mouthfuls of sand and spitting it out like a little construction crew. It's awesome for keeping a sandy substrate looking clean, but it'll also redecorate-so anything sitting on the sand is gonna get buried or undermined sooner or later. Super cool personality too, especially once it picks a favorite burrow and starts "working" all day.
Exquisite wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
This is one of those fairy wrasses that looks like it was painted with highlighters - males can shift through greens, reds, blues, and purples depending on mood and whether they are showing off. In a reef tank its usually out and cruising the water column, grabbing tiny meaty foods, and doing little display flare-ups at its own reflection or other wrasses. Biggest real-world gotcha is they are jumpers, so a tight lid or mesh top is basically mandatory.
More to Explore
Discover more marine species.
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This is a sand-burying snake eel from the tropical Atlantic that likes to sit with just its head poking out, waiting for food. It gets pretty big (around 70 cm) and needs a real marine setup with a deep, soft sand bed and a tight lid because eels are escape artists.
Blue Green Chromis (Green Chromis)
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Blue Green Chromis are those shimmery little green-blue darts you'll see zipping around the top of a reef tank, always looking like they're catching the light just right. They're super fun in a group because they hover and cruise together, but they've got a bit of a "pecking order" thing going on if the tank's tight or the group's too small.
Broadbarred firefish
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This is the lionfish with the long "antennae" (those banded tentacles above the eyes) and the ragged, spotty fins that make it look extra dramatic under reef lighting. It'll spend the day tucked under ledges and then cruise out at dusk to ambush shrimp, crabs, and any small fish it can fit in its mouth-also worth remembering it's venomous, so you treat it with respect when you're in the tank.
Comet
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This is the famous "Marine Betta" look-alike: jet-dark with those starry spots, and that wild fake eye near the back that makes predators bite the wrong end. It's a super shy cave-dweller by day and then turns into a sneaky night hunter, cruising out for crustaceans and small fish.
Coral Beauty Angelfish
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Coral Beauty is that classic little dwarf angel with the purple-blue body and orange striping that looks different from fish to fish. It spends a lot of the day weaving through rockwork and picking at algae and other bits, so a tank with mature live rock really brings out its best behavior. It can be a little bossy (especially with other dwarf angels) and some individuals will nip corals, so it is reef-safe with caution.
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