Bluebanded Goby: Fire-Red With Electric Blue Stripes

Few small fish are as dazzling as the bluebanded goby: a fiery red-orange body crossed with glowing, electric-blue bands. It's tiny, so a good look is a treat — but once you spot that neon flash on the rock, you won't mistake it for anything else. Here's how to find one near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Bluebanded Goby · Lythrypnus dalli

How to spot the bluebanded goby near Jacó

Look closely at crevices, ledges, and the shaded faces of rocks. The bluebanded goby perches on its fins near a hole, its brilliant red body and neon-blue bars standing out against the dark rock. It stays close to cover and darts in the instant it feels crowded, so move slowly and look for that bright spark of color.

5 fun facts about the bluebanded goby

• Neon on purpose. Its glowing blue bands over a fire-red body make it one of the most vivid little fish on the reef — easy to spot once you know to look low and close.
• Small but mighty. It's only a couple of inches long, yet it holds its own tiny territory near a crevice and darts back to cover at the first sign of trouble.
• It can change sex. Bluebanded gobies can switch between male and female depending on the social situation — a handy trick for keeping a breeding pair together.
• A perch, not a cruiser. Like other gobies it rests on its fins on the rock rather than hovering in open water, ready to dash into its hole.
• A careful parent. The male guards the eggs, which are laid in a sheltered nook and watched over until they hatch.

The bluebanded goby is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.