Clay goby

Care at a glance

Overview

The clay goby is a stocky West African sleeper that spends its time perched on the bottom, watching the tank from a favorite spot. It can be kept alone or in a small group where there is room, but it is territorial with its own kind, so give a group space and plenty of caves to break up sight lines. It is generally calm, yet it will eat smaller fish and may nip trailing fins, so choose tankmates carefully and keep it only with sturdy fish too large to swallow. Feed it well on meaty foods, and let it graze algae and blanched greens. Allow about 160 liters with sand and cover.

In the wild

Dormitator lebretonis lives in coastal lagoons, estuaries, and the lower reaches of rivers across West Africa, over soft sand among roots and leaf litter. It does well in hard, alkaline freshwater and also takes light brackish conditions. Give it a sandy bottom, caves and shaded corners to claim, and dim lighting. Warm water suits it, about 24 to 28 C at roughly pH 7.0 to 8.2, with the higher, harder end preferred.

Good to know

Dormitator lebretonis is a sleeper goby in the family Eleotridae, reaching around 12 centimeters, and it is the West African member of a genus otherwise found in the Americas. It is an omnivore that both hunts small prey and grazes algae and detritus. Its aquarium breeding is barely documented, with spawns reported in caves or on plant leaves and conflicting reports on whether brackish water is needed, so it carries no reliable breeding record.

Did you know

The genus name Dormitator comes straight from the Latin for a sleeper or sluggard, which is exactly how these gobies pass the day: parked on one perch, barely moving, until food drifts within reach and they strike.

Common questions

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