Care Level: Easy

Temperament: Peaceful

Reef Compatible: Yes

General Description: The Dracula Goby, quite rare to the hobby, are typically collected from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. A small fish with unparalleled personality to match, the Dracula goby has a clean-white body with four diagonal dark bands and three faint thinner bands, a yellow forehead and a rounded dorsal fin. Not to be mistaken for the common Blackray or Hifin Goby (S. nematodes) which has an elongated ray on its first dorsal fin, or the Yellownose Prawn Goby (S. xanthorhinicus) whose doral fin tends to still come to more of a point compared to the Dracula goby. This goby is typically found in association with a Candy Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli), in which the shrimp maintains the burrow they live in and the goby alerts the nearly blind shrimp of potential threats. The Dracula goby can reach an adult size of approximately 2-1/2″.

Diet Requirements: The Dracula goby is primarily carnivorous, feeding on small organisms and zooplankton. A diet largely consisting of high quality, vitamin enriched frozen preparations is absolutely necessary to maintain optimal health, coloration, and immune function. Such foods can include, but are not limited to, brine shrimp, calanus, cyclopeeze and rotifers. We highly encourage soaking frozen foods in vitamin and fatty acid supplements. Multiple, small feedings per day rather than one large feeding will also create more of a natural environment for this goby as it would feed in the wild. A Dracula goby may accept high quality flake and micro-pellet foods.

Care Requirements: A minimum 15 to 20 gallon aquarium is ideal to house a Dracula goby. A tight fitting lid is recommended because these gobies are known to be spooked easily until they settle in, and this prevents your Dracula goby from jumping out of the aquarium by accident. Spending most of its time on the bottom of the aquarium, the Dracula goby will appreciate some rock work to build a small burrow under where it will peak out of through the day. We highly recommend pairing this goby with its preferred shrimp partner, the Candy Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli), but some have also been observed to pair up with a Tiger Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus bellulus) in the home aquarium. This partnership, also known as a symbiotic relationship, is important for the Dracula goby to feel completely at home. Do not house a Dracula goby with overly aggressive and pugnacious tank mates. Dracula gobies make excellent reef inhabitants. Keep only one goby of this behavior-type per aquarium, unless it is very large to accomodate territories of more than one individual. Recommended water conditions, 72-78° F, KH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025.

Purchase Size: Medium: 1-3/4” to 2”

Note: Your item may not look identical to the image provided due to variation within species. Purchase sizes are approximate.