Candy stripe goby

Awaous flavus

Also known as Flavus sand goby

FreshwaterFish

Candy stripe goby (Awaous flavus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 3.9 in (10 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Northern South American coastal rivers
Family: Oxudercidae

Overview

This is a big, peaceful sand-sifting goby that spends its day mouthing the substrate and processing it for food, much like a small eartheater. It is mostly peaceful and social, though males can be territorial over a chosen patch, so give it floor space and keep a single fish or a small, well-spread group. It stays on the bottom and needs a deep bed of soft, fine sand it can sift without scratching itself, plus sinking foods, frozen bloodworm, and small meaty items that reach the floor. Choose calm mid-water tankmates that will not beat it to a meal. Because it grows to around 10 centimeters and stays busy, give it at least 110 liters with a long open sand bed.

In the wild

In the wild it works the sandy and muddy beds of coastal rivers along the Atlantic side of northern South America, from Venezuela and the Guianas to Brazil, in fresh and very lightly brackish lower reaches. The water is warm and the bottom is soft and open. Recreate that with a fine sand substrate, gentle to moderate flow, and some smooth wood or rock for structure. Keep it warm at 24 to 28 C and close to neutral, about pH 6.5 to 7.8; its larvae naturally develop out at sea.

Good to know

Awaous flavus is a member of the family Oxudercidae and reaches roughly 8 to 10 centimeters, one of the larger gobies kept from fresh water. The name flavus means yellow or golden and refers to its warm body tone and stripes. It sifts sand for small invertebrates, detritus, and particles, filtering the food from mouthfuls of substrate. It is amphidromous, breeding in fresh water while the larvae drift to sea, and it has no reliable record of aquarium spawning.

Did you know

It feeds by taking mouthfuls of sand, sorting out edible particles and invertebrates inside its mouth, and letting the clean grit fall back through its gills, so a fine sand bed is not decoration but its working tool.

Tank mates

Candy stripe goby is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.