About Stonogobiops nematodes Hoese & Randall, 1982
Stonogobiops nematodes, commonly known by many common names including filament-finned prawn-goby, antenna goby, high-fin goby, red-banded goby, high-fin red-banded goby, striped goby, barber-pole goby, and black-ray goby, is a species of marine goby. It is native to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Seychelles to the Philippines and Bali. In its natural environment, this goby lives on sandy or sand-rubble bottoms adjacent to reefs, at depths between 15 and 25 metres (49 to 82 ft). It is one of multiple goby species that form commensal relationships with Randall's pistol shrimp, Alpheus randalli. For successful aquarium keeping, this fish requires good sand or coral rubble substrate to build burrows, plus plenty of rock cover, and it does well in reef aquariums. The recommended minimum tank size is 10 gallons (40 litres). However, since these fish spend most of the day hiding in burrows rather than being active swimmers, they can also be kept in smaller "pico" aquariums defined as 4 gallons and under. Ideal aquarium water conditions are a specific gravity of 1.020 to 1.025, a pH of 8.1 to 8.4, and a water temperature between 72–78 °F (22–26 °C). Water temperatures as high as 80 °F (27 °C) will not harm this fish.
