Dragon Sleeper Goby (Amblygobius phalaena)

The Dragon Sleeper Goby (Amblygobius phalaena), also known as the Banded, Bullet, or Sphinx Goby, is a hardworking sand-sifter that doubles as a peaceful, reef-safe showpiece. Marked with bold brown bands and orange-spotted fins, it spends its day taking mouthfuls of sand and sifting them through its gills, keeping the top layer of your sand bed clean, aerated, and free of detritus and cyanobacteria.

Browse the rest of our saltwater fish and marine livestock to round out your reef.

Care Guide

This goby earns its keep as a cleanup crew member, but it does best in a mature tank with plenty to graze on.

• Established sand bed. Provide a 30 gallon or larger tank with a deep, established sand bed and live rock. A mature sand bed full of microfauna is important, since this goby grazes the sand all day.
• Sand-sifting. It scoops mouthfuls of substrate and passes them through its gills, removing leftover food and detritus and helping keep nuisance cyanobacteria off the sand. It is one of the best natural sand-bed cleaners in the hobby.
• Feeding. Even with a good sand bed, offer several small meals a day of mysis, frozen marine preparations, and quality pellets. A thin or sunken belly is a sign it is underfed. Wild specimens can be picky at first, so a varied menu helps it settle in.
• Temperament. Peaceful and reef-safe, but territorial toward other bottom-dwellers and its own kind in smaller tanks. Keep just one per tank unless you have a large system or a mated pair.
• Cover the tank. Sleeper gobies dart and jump when startled, so a tight-fitting lid is essential.
• Water. Keep temperature at 72 to 78°F, salinity at 1.020 to 1.025, and pH at 8.1 to 8.4.

Specifications

Compatibility

• Reef-safe and peaceful with most fish. It will not pick at corals or ornamental shrimp.
• Keep only one sleeper goby per tank unless you have a mated pair or a very large system, as two unpaired gobies usually fight.
• Watch for squabbles with other bottom-dwellers such as firefish, blennies, and other gobies in smaller tanks.
• Excellent alongside snails and hermit crabs as part of a natural sand-bed cleanup crew.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• SFBB Freeze Dried Mysis Shrimp as a protein-rich staple
• Reef Nutrition Tigger Feast live copepods to seed the sand bed it grazes
• Pair it with other peaceful gobies like our Green Mandarin Goby or Zebra Bar Goby
• Browse the rest of our saltwater livestock

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it really clean my sand?
Yes. It constantly sifts the top layer of sand through its gills, removing detritus and leftover food and helping keep cyanobacteria in check.

Will it starve?
It can if the tank lacks a mature sand bed or is not fed enough. Provide an established sand bed and feed several small meaty meals a day, and watch for a sunken belly as a warning sign.

Is it reef safe?
Yes. It ignores corals and ornamental shrimp. It may shuffle sand around the base of your rockwork, so make sure your rocks sit on the bottom glass and are stable.

Can I keep two?
Only as a mated pair or in a large tank. Two unpaired sleeper gobies will usually fight over territory.