All fish / Butidae

Marble Goby

Oxyeleotris marmorata

Also known as marble sleeper, marbled sleeper goby, sand goby, soon hock, marble sleeper goby, giant marble goby, ปลาบู่ทราย, ปลาบู่, ikan ketutu, ikan hantu, マーブルゴビー, ikan betutu

A large, heavy-headed predator with a mottled brown and dark marbled body, a wide mouth and a rounded tail. It spends most of its time resting motionless on the bottom waiting to ambush prey, and is kept by keepers of big predatory fish as well as being a prized food fish in Asia.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

35 cm

Temperature

22 to 28 °C

pH

6.5 to 7.5

Smallest tank

500 litres

Keep as

Best kept singly

Diet

Carnivore: live and frozen fish, prawns, earthworms; can be weaned onto sinking carnivore pellets

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Southeast Asia: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java

Breeding

Pairs spawn on hard surfaces or in caves and the male guards the sticky eggs. It is bred commercially in ponds for food, but home aquarium breeding is rare because of the adult size and the very small larvae that need tiny live foods.

Good to know

It can reach well over 50 cm in the wild and will swallow any tankmate that fits in its mouth, so only house it with large robust fish. Young fish are often sold small without warning of the eventual size.