The Panamanian Greenbanded Goby (Tigrigobius panamensis) is a small fish with a big personality! These charming little gobies reach a maximum size of about 4 cm (1.6 inch) and in the wild associate with sea urchins (usually Echinometra lucunter) using their spines for protection. The striped color pattern helps them to blend in between the spines of their sea urchin hosts. Greenbanded gobies are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that they start life as females. Later, the biggest and most dominant individuals turn into males. The eggs are guarded by the male and hatch into tiny larvae that spend a month in the plankton, before settling on the reef and becoming juvenile fish. Greenbanded gobies make great pets for reef tanks as they don’t need much space, are peaceful and easy to keep as pairs or in small groups.