Common names for the Yellowheaded Sleeper Goby include the Pennant Glider, Yellowheaded or Golden Head Sleeper, or Blueband, Bluecheek Goby, Bluestreak Goby, or Gold headed Sleeper Goby.
These fish are have a white body, with a yellow head and bright, electric blue markings on their face. They look stunning as a pair in a large enough aquarium.
They occupy the lower portion of your tank and will spend their time sifting through your sand bed or making themselves little borrows, this helps keep your sandbed clean and aerated. Ensuring you have secured rockwork is essential when keeping these fish, as they will burrow under the rockwork, potentially making it unstable.
They are completely reef safe, they will not bully other fish, or pick at corals. They can become territorial with other sand-sifting gobies, especially those of it’s own kind, but they can be kept in a tank as a mated pair.
Tank Requirements & Facts
- Minimum tank size: 70 Gallon (318 Litres)
- Prone to disease: No
- Beginner Compatible: With Caution
- Adult Size: 7 inches (17.7cm)
- Reef Compatible: Yes
- Predator Tank Compatible: No
- Care Level: Some special feeding requirements
- pH: 8.1 to 8.4
- Temperature: 22°C to 27°C
- Preferred Tank Level: Sandbed dweller
- Lots of hiding places required
- Tight-fitting lid, these fish have been known to jump.
- Number to a tank: To be kept singularly or as a mated pair.
Feeding
These fish have special requirements with feeding. They spend their day sifting through the sand bed looking for live foods. They will accept some frozen foods and their diet should be supplemented with these foods, though not all fish will adapt to taking substitute foods. An established tank (minimum of 6 months old) would be preferred for these fish as they will make light work of even large sand beds.
- These are carnivores
- They sift through your sand looking for things like pods. They will eat some algae as a result of sifting, but it is not their predominant source of nutrition
- They enjoy grazing on a population of Copepod’s so a refugium or regular introduction of Pods is recommended
- They will accept some frozen foods
Acclimatisation
When acclimating your Goby it is best to do so in a deep bucket that the fish is unable to jump out of.
Place your fish in the bucket and then drip acclimate for about 45 minutes at a rate of 3 drips per second. This should bring the fishes water parameters in line with your tanks parameters.
Once your fish has been drip acclimated, catch the fish with a net and place it gently into your tank. Do not put any of the water the fish originally came in, into your tank.
Care should be taken after adding the fish to ensure there is a tightly fitting lid on the aquarium at all times. These fish are known to be jumpers and they are more likely to jump when first introduced to an aquarium.
Why You Should Consider A Yellowheaded Sleeper Goby
These active little fish may not have the fanciest colours that some fish have, but they will work hard in your tank all day long cleaning and aerating your sand bed.
They enjoy building themselves little borrows to sleep in, mine has built himself 3 different bolt holes, that he can dart in or sleep in. When he is not sand sifting around his bolt holes, he is building them up. He has built himself multiple entrances to his main sleeping hole by using the larger pieces of crushed shell that he can’t sift. It is fascinating to watch him at work.
These fish can learn to accept frozen foods and live foods, meaning even if your sand bed isn’t really established enough for them to thrive, you can hopefully supplement their diet. No one wants to starve their fish!
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