Danger! That’s what the frantically flapping tail of a goby fish says to the near-blind snapping shrimp (Alfeus spp). In a crafty collaboration, snapping shrimps construct and maintain burrows in the seabed, while the fish stands guard. During construction, shrimps leave the burrow to deposit excavated sand.
Throughout this hazardous venture, shrimps maintain constant contact with their gobies using their antennae. In some cases, gobies even hover above their shrimp, allowing it to take its load further from the burrow’s entrance. Sighting potential threats, the fish waggles its tail against the shrimps’ antennae or into the burrow entrance, warning the shrimp of the danger. In return, the fish can call the burrow home, sleeping in it with the shrimp at night and using it as a convenient bolthole in the face of peril.