Predatory Fish: Marble Goby Care and Profile - Oxyeleotris Marmorata

Hello everyone, it’s Pierre and welcome back to the channel!

I recently got a new fish called the Marble Goby or oxyeleotris marmorata. Other common names are Marbled Sleeper, Marbled Sand Goby and Soon Hock.

The Marble Goby is considered to be the largest goby in the world and can grow over 24 inches (60 cm). Marble Gobies are native to fresh and brackish waters of Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. This includes the Mekong and Chao Praya basins, as well as rivers and other water bodies in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indochina, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

As you may have guessed, they are also considered a delicacy and are also farmed for human consumption.

Marble gobies are tropical fish and are tolerant of various water conditions and salinities. Temperature range is 72 - 85 degrees fahrenheit. They can be adapted to live in pH of 6.5 to 7.8. They do best with low nitrates (20 to 30 ppm or less) but again can survive in poor conditions.

Marble gobies are called “sleepers” as they tend to stay on the bottom when they mature and wait for prey to swim by, even burrowing into the sand. They also have the ability to change colors and camouflage to some degree. This probably helps them avoid detection while stalking prey and also avoid being eaten while young.

As you can see, my goby is very active which is not unusual when they are younger.

As nocturnal ambush predators, marble gobies are carnivorous by nature. This means that they will eat any fish small and slow enough to be caught. I’ve had to feed mine live shrimp and chopped worms as it doesn’t seem to like pellets very much.

They are territorial and aggressive with their own kind and so plan on keeping only one specimen per tank. Tankmates can be any non-aggressive fish big and fast enough not to be eaten although it's best kept in a solo tank. It’s important to move this fish to a larger tank as it grows, eventually needing a tank of at least a 48 x 24 inch footprint. My marble goby is in a 20 gallon tank right now but will eventually be moved to his own 150 gallon tank in the future.
As you’ve seen, the marble goby is an unusual and hardy fish with peculiar traits and behaviors. If you can get your hands on one and have the ability to house it long-term, you will be rewarded with a unique, beautiful and interesting fish.

As always, thanks for watching and happy fishkeeping! If you enjoy the content, please consider subscribing.

#Goby #Aquarium #Predator