A territory usually consists of an area of sand situated between rocks and males with territories at the bottom of reefs excavate a spawning cave beneath the rock.

The females are frequently solitary but they can be found in small groups of up to 3 individuals.

The juveniles and non-territorial adult males similarly occur in singles, pairs or in small shoals of 3-8 fish.

[2] It occurs at depths of 5–40 metres (16–131 ft)>[1] This species feeds from the sediment rich aufwuchs on the rocks, raking diatoms and loose algal strands with its mouth.

[3] This species was first recorded in 1998 but was not formally described until Ad Konings and Jay Richard Stauffer Jr. named it as Metriaclima flavifemina in 2006.