About Old Glory
Old glory goby — orange and yellow horizontal striping make it one of the most colorful small gobies you can keep. Active grazer that picks at film algae and detritus on rockwork. Hardy and peaceful in any reef.
Koumansetta rainfordi, the old glory or Court Jester goby, is a species of goby native to tropical reefs of the western Pacific Ocean where it occurs at depths of from 2 to 30 metres. This species can reach a length of 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. The specific name honours the viticulturalist E. H. Rainford, of the Queensland Agricultural Department, who also collected specimens for the Australian Museum, and in 1924 he collected specimens of this species.
Notes from the editors
What it looks like. Slender goby with bold horizontal orange and yellow stripes and a delicate trailing dorsal filament. One of the more colorful small gobies in the hobby.
In your tank. Active grazer that picks at film algae and detritus on rockwork. Peaceful and reef-safe. Best in mature tanks with established algal and microfauna populations.
Care notes. Hardy in mature systems; struggles in newly-cycled tanks where there's nothing to graze. Compatible with most peaceful tankmates.
Sourcing and feeding. Wild-collected from Indo-Pacific reefs; widely available ($25–50). Carnivore/omnivore — frozen mysis, brine, copepods, supplemental nori for grazing.
Care info is a starting point, not a guarantee. Individual specimens, water chemistry, and tankmate dynamics vary. Verify against multiple sources and adjust to what you observe. See our terms & disclaimers.
Related fish
Sources & attribution
- Taxonomy and accepted name from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS AphiaID 318699).
- Description content adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: (c) Yi-Kai Tea, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC-BY-SA (via iNaturalist or Wikimedia Commons).