Gobies
Gobies are the answer to the hardest question in marine fishkeeping: what can you actually put in a smaller tank? Most of them stay under 15 cm, they live on and around the substrate rather than needing open swimming water, and several are interesting enough to carry a display on their own. Gallery Aquatica stocks five at our shop in Tingalpa, east of the Brisbane CBD.
Gobies are in-store purchase and pickup only. We do not send live fish by courier or freight. Ring 0420 484 584 to check what is in.
Two requirements, both non-negotiable
A lid. Gobies and dartfish are the most reliable jumpers in the hobby. The dartfish in particular will launch themselves at any disturbance, and the gap around a return pipe is enough. More gobies are lost this way than to any disease.
Sand. Every goby here uses the substrate - burrowing, sifting or sleeping in it. A fine sandbed of a few centimetres is the minimum, and coarse gravel or bare glass will not do. Sleeper gobies in particular need fine sand they can pass through their gills.
The gobies we stock
Shrimp Goby (Cryptocentrus and Amblyeleotris species)
Sold as a group rather than one species, and worth asking us which we have in - they range from about 8 to 13 cm. All of them work in 110 litres or so.
What makes them worth having is the partnership. Shrimp gobies pair with pistol shrimp in one of the more remarkable arrangements in the sea: the near-blind shrimp digs and maintains a burrow, the goby sits at the entrance and stands watch, and the shrimp keeps one antenna resting on the goby's tail. A flick of the tail and both vanish underground.
The pairing usually forms in the tank within days if you buy both. It is not guaranteed, but it happens far more often than not, and watching it develop is the point. Peaceful and reef safe.
Gold Head Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea strigata)
Pale silver-white body with a bright yellow head and an electric blue stripe under the eye. Reaches 18 cm, the largest goby here, and wants 300 litres.
A sand sifter. It takes mouthfuls of substrate, filters the edible material out through the gills and drops the rest, working over the sandbed continuously all day. That keeps a sandbed turned and clean, and it is genuinely useful.
The catch is that this is also how it feeds, so it needs a mature tank with a well-populated sandbed to sift. In a new tank with sterile sand it will exhaust the food supply and decline, and they are not reliable at switching to prepared food. Add one to an established system, and be prepared to target feed. Reef safe, though it will dust coral with sand it drops - keep frags off the substrate.
Scissortail Goby (Ptereleotris evides, scissortail dartfish)
Pale grey-blue at the front shading to near black at the rear, with a deeply forked tail it opens and closes as it hovers. Reaches 14 cm, wants 200 litres.
A dartfish rather than a true bottom-dwelling goby: it hovers in open water just above the rock, facing into the flow, and dives into a hole when startled. Takes prepared food readily and is entirely peaceful. Best in a pair or small group, which is how they behave naturally.
The most committed jumper on this page. Reef safe.
Zebra Goby (Ptereleotris zebra, zebra barred dartfish)
Pale green-blue finely barred with vertical salmon-pink stripes, and a splash of colour around the face. Reaches 12 cm in 200 litres.
Another dartfish with the same habits as the scissortail - hovering, flow-facing, quick to dive for cover. Noticeably better in a group than alone; a small shoal of them above the rock is one of the better looks available in a mid-sized reef. Takes prepared food readily. Reef safe, and a jumper.
Other gobies we regularly stock
Also part of our regular range. Ask us in store or ring 0420 484 584 for size and requirements.
- Loveheart Goby
Which goby should you buy?
For a smaller tank, or a first goby: a shrimp goby with a pistol shrimp. It works in around 110 litres, it eats readily, and the shrimp partnership gives you something to watch that no other fish provides.
For open-water movement and colour: a group of zebra or scissortail dartfish. Buy three or more rather than one.
For sandbed maintenance: the gold head sleeper - but only in an established tank with a mature sandbed, for the same reason a lawnmower blenny needs an established tank. It is not a fish for a new setup.
Tankmates
Gobies are peaceful and suit almost any community: clownfish, blennies, chromis, anthias, Banggai cardinals, tangs and dwarf angelfish.
Two things to watch. A melanurus wrasse may harass small gobies and will eat the pistol shrimp that a shrimp goby depends on. And anything predatory - lionfish, morays, triggerfish, large angelfish - will treat a goby as food.
Common questions
Do you ship gobies?
No. All marine fish are in-store purchase and pickup only. We do not send live fish by courier or freight.
Are these gobies in stock right now?
These are the species we stock as our regular range, not a live inventory. Ring 0420 484 584 or email shop@galleryaquatica.com.au to check.
What is the best marine fish for a small tank?
A goby, usually. A shrimp goby works in around 110 litres and gives you the pistol shrimp partnership as well. A bicolour or canary blenny and an ocellaris clownfish are the other strong options at that size.
Will a shrimp goby really pair with a pistol shrimp?
Usually, and often within a few days of both going in. The shrimp digs and maintains the burrow, the goby keeps watch at the entrance, and the shrimp keeps an antenna on the goby's tail so it knows when to retreat. It is not guaranteed with any given pair, but it happens far more often than not.
Do gobies jump?
Yes, and the dartfish especially. This is the most common way people lose them. A sealed lid with the pipework gaps blocked is essential.
Do I need a sandbed for a goby?
Yes. All of these fish burrow, sift or sleep in the substrate. A few centimetres of fine sand is the minimum. Coarse gravel and bare-bottom tanks are unsuitable, and a sleeper goby specifically needs sand fine enough to pass through its gills.
Are sleeper gobies hard to keep?
Harder than they look. They feed by sifting a mature sandbed, so they need an established tank with plenty of life in the substrate, and they do not reliably switch to prepared food. In a new tank they exhaust the food supply and decline. Add one to a system that has been running for a good while.
Are gobies reef safe?
Yes, all of them. The only caution is that a sifting sleeper goby drops sand over everything, so keep frags off the substrate.
More marine fish
See all the marine fish we stock, or the Brisbane store page for coral and equipment.