Golden head sleeper goby
Valenciennea strigata
Also known as Yellowheaded Sleeper Goby, Gold Head Sleeper Goby, Blueband Goby, Pennant Glider
SaltwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 73–81°F
- 23–27°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 5.9 in
- 15 cm
- Minimum tank
- 53 gal
- 200 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Difficulty
- Difficult
- Breeding
- Hard
- Rarity
- Common
- Reef safe
- Reef safe with caution
- Family
- Gobiidae
- Origin
- Indo-Pacific
Overview
The golden head sleeper goby is a peaceful sand sifter for a large reef tank. It is a fish for experienced keepers.
Did you know
Golden head sleeper gobies pair for life. The two dig and maintain a shared burrow, taking turns to guard it while the other sifts the surrounding sand.
Caring for the golden head sleeper goby
Golden head sleeper gobies need at least 53 gal (200 L) and a deep, fine live sand bed to survive. A productive sand bed or a refugium feeding the tank keeps their food source replenished. They are determined jumpers, so a tight lid is essential.
Keep the water at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C), with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Their sifting slowly depletes the microfauna in an aquarium sand bed. Many specimens then slowly starve, because they will not always switch to prepared food.
Golden head sleeper gobies are peaceful toward tank mates and never touch corals. They constantly shower sand onto anything sitting low in the tank, so clams and bottom corals get buried. For that reason they rate reef safe with caution.
They can often be bought as an established male-female pair. Breeding them is hard.
Good to know
The golden head sleeper goby belongs to the genus Valenciennea, the sand-sifting sleeper gobies of the family Gobiidae. It feeds by processing substrate through its gill openings.
In the wild
The golden head sleeper goby is widespread across the Indo-Pacific, over sandy patches next to reef. It digs burrows under rock and rubble there. It spends the whole day taking mouthfuls of sand and sifting out tiny invertebrates.
Common questions
What size tank does a golden head sleeper goby need?
A golden head sleeper goby needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a golden head sleeper goby need?
A golden head sleeper goby is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a golden head sleeper goby eat?
A golden head sleeper goby eats the microfauna it sifts from the sand bed. Many will not always switch to prepared food, so keep the sand bed productive or feed the tank from a refugium.
How big does a golden head sleeper goby get?
An adult golden head sleeper goby reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).
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