Behavioural plasticity is an advantageous trait for animals living in dynamic environments, and can be induced through learning. While some behavioural traits are innate, others are framed by experience and learning in an individual’s lifetime. Many studies have investigated cognitive abilities in species from contrasting environments, but the relative contribution of natural selection versus behavioural plasticity in cognitive variability remains equivocal. Further, laboratory husbandry is often standardised, failing to encourage natural behaviour in these studies. Here, we captured juvenile gobies (Bathygobius cocosensis) from intertidal rockpools, and raised them in captivity under varied environmental enrichment treatments that mimic variation observed in their natural habitats. When tested in a simple spatial learning task, individuals from complex treatments (rock or oyster substrate) reached learning criteria faster than those from homogenous treatments (sand or sea grass substrate). Interestingly, complex treatment gobies demonstrated longer latencies to start the task than gobies in homogeneous treatments. Despite originating from a highly dynamic environment, gobies reared in homogeneous treatments showed a deficit in spatial learning ability. Our results indicate that cognitive ability is strongly shaped by individual experience during early ontogeny, and exposure to reduced environmental complexity leads to reduced cognitive abilities in intertidal gobies.