Care Level: Moderate

Temperament: Peaceful

Reef Compatible: Yes

General Description: The Railway Sleeper Goby has a wide distribution across the Indo-West Pacific including Japan, Indonesia, the Great Barrier Reef, Maldives, Seychelles and southern Africa. Although it has this large natural range, the Railway sleeper goby is a deep water species, found at depths of up to 160 feet (50 meters), making its presence in the aquarium trade infrequent. Like all other Valenciennea gobies, its body is torpedo shaped with an overall pearly-white color base, however the Railway sleeper gobies’ reflective blue cheek and pair of parallel wine red or bordeaux colored stripes that run horizontally across its length make it a particularly attractive species. A relatively peaceful fish, the Railway sleeper goby is very popular for aerating and keeping the substrate clean, including managing nuisance cyanobacteria. It does this by taking mouthfuls of substrate and passing it through the gill plates, extracting microorganisms and other food. In turn, your aquarium’s sand bed will appear squeaky clean but at a cost. Small mounds of substrate throughout the aquarium will be noticeable where the Railway sleeper goby has been and in some circumstances for larger individuals, areas of the aquarium’s substrate may be more dramatically re-aquascaped. It is not uncommon for your Railway sleeper goby to also create a “hole” to retreat to suddenly if felt threatened and this is usually surrounded by a large mound of substrate. An adult Railway sleeper goby can reach a size of approximately 8″ to 9″, making it one of the larger species in the genus. Note: This species is not frequently available.

Diet Requirements: In the wild Railway sleeper gobies are primarily carnivorous, feeding on small organisms and other material from the substrate. A diet largely consisting of high quality frozen preparations is necessary to maintain optimal health, coloration, and immune function. Such foods can include, but are not limited to, brine shrimp, calanus, mysis shrimp and other carnivore mixes. 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 the Railway sleeper goby as it would feed in the wild. Railway sleeper gobies may accept high quality flake and sinking pellet foods. Live foods, such as brine shrimp or blackworms, are an engaging treat from time to time.

Care Requirements: An established minimum 75 to 90 gallon aquarium is ideal to house a small to medium sized Railway sleeper goby. A tight fitting lid is needed because these gobies are known to jump out of aquariums. A Railway sleeper goby will be indifferent to the amount of live rock in an aquarium, as an open sandbed is more important in order for it to sift and feed. This fish should not be put into a biologically unstable aquarium, as it is sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, and it would likely also perish from a lack of food as a result of an unestablished sandbed. Do not house a Railway sleeper goby with overly aggressive and pugnacious tank mates. Only one Railway sleeper goby is recommended per aquarium unless they’re a confirmed male-female pair [which is difficult to discern]; this species is not compatible with other members of the Valenciennea genus. Railway sleeper gobies may show territoriality in smaller aquariums to similarily shaped fish that hang out near the bottom (i.e., firefish, blennies, other gobies). A Railway sleeper goby will feel most at home in a reef aquarium, posing no threat to corals. Small shrimp may be at risk with very large individuals. Recommended water conditions, 72-78° F, KH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025.

Purchase Size: Medium: 2-1/4″ to 3″

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