All fish / Gobiidae

Golden Head Sleeper Goby

Valenciennea strigata

Also known as yellow headed sleeper goby, yellowhead sleeper goby, golden headed goby, blueband goby, sleeper goby, sand sifting goby, sleeper banded goby, yellow head goby, golden head goby, アカハチハゼ, 红带范氏塘鳢, 金头虾虎

A pale, slender goby with a bright yellow head marked by an electric blue stripe below the eye. It is kept mainly as a sand sifter that keeps the substrate turned over and clean, and pairs are often seen burrowing together under rocks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

15 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a mated pair

Diet

Carnivore: sifts sand for small invertebrates; offer frozen mysis, brine shrimp, enriched meaty foods several times a day

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific: East Africa to the Tuamotus, north to southern Japan, south to Australia

Breeding

Pairs dig a burrow under rockwork and the male guards the eggs laid inside it. Spawning occurs occasionally in aquariums, but rearing the tiny pelagic larvae is very difficult.

Good to know

Needs a mature tank with a deep, fine sand bed and plenty of live food in it, or it may slowly starve; it often jumps, so use a tight lid. It sifts over corals and may smother sessile invertebrates with sand, and two males will fight.