Violet Goby

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep it on its own or with calm, larger brackish tankmates, since it does not socialize and can be testy in close quarters. It stays on the bottom, burrowing and sifting mouthfuls of sand for food. Feed sinking foods like frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and meaty bits it can suck up off the substrate. This is a difficult fish overall because of its size, brackish needs, and feeding habits.

In the wild

The violet goby lives in brackish estuaries, mangrove channels, and muddy river mouths along the Atlantic coast from the southern US down through South America. It burrows in soft bottoms, so it needs a deep, fine sand bed it can dig into. It does best in brackish water, and the tank needs to be very large, around 450 liters, because of its size.

Good to know

This is an eel-shaped goby in the family Gobiidae, and it gets big, up to about 55 cm. Despite the fierce, fanged look, its mouth and gill rakers are built for filter and sift feeding rather than tearing prey. It has tiny eyes and poor vision, relying on smell and taste to find food. Breeding it in captivity is essentially undocumented.

Did you know

That mouthful of long, sharp-looking teeth is misleading. The goby uses them more like a scraper and rake, taking in mouthfuls of substrate and straining out algae and tiny invertebrates rather than biting prey. The scary grin is mostly for show.

Related species

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  Knight goby

  Stigmatogobius sadanundio

  3.5 in (9 cm)21 gal (80 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Black toraja goby

  Mugilogobius sarasinorum

  3.1 in (8 cm)21 gal (80 L)79–82°F (26–28°C)

• 

  Desert goby

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• 

  White-cheek goby

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• Blue neon dwarf goby

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• Cobalt blue goby

  Stiphodon semoni

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)13 gal (50 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)