Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Persian Gulf and Red Sea to Samoa, north to Taiwan, south to Lord Howe Island.
Size: 5 inches (13 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits areas of coralline algae on seaward reefs and in protected lagoons and usually found at depths between 3 – 50 feet (1 – 15 m) where it turns over upper sediments in search of benthic crustaceans.
General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade having a mottled brownish body with white spots and a lengthwise black line broken into several short lengths.
Cab be maintained in reef or fish-only aquariums having some rocky crevices for hiding, and also a sandbed of at least two inches (5 cm) in depth where it can turnover its surface looking for prey.
Should not be housed with aggressive fishes such as groupers, dottybacks, triggerfishes or aggressive angelfishes.
They are a sand sifter, picking up large mouthfuls of sand and sifting out anything edible.
Requires a meaty diet, i.e., enriched brine shrimp, mysis, finely chopped fish or shrimp flesh, and other various frozen carnivore foods, with one or two feedings per day.
Small sinking enriched shrimp meal pellets are an excellent way of keeping them well fed.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Istigobius
FYI: May jump out of uncovered aquariums.
One per aquarium.
May nip corals.
Experience Level: Beginner
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
