Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Seychelles and Chagos Islands to Line and Tuamotu Islands, north to Southern Japan and Bonin Islands, and south to Lord Howe Island, also throughout Micronesia.
Size: 2 inches (3 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits coral reefs and lagoons and found in the branches of Pocillopora damicornis stony corals. Usually found at depths between 10 to 200 feet (3 – 60 m) where it feeds on zooplankton and coral mucus.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade having a tannish body with black dorsal, anal, pectoral and tail fins.
Can be maintained in small/nano reef or fish-only aquariums preferably having the same species coral it’s found on in the wild.
Should not be housed with aggressive fishes such as groupers, dottybacks, triggerfishes or aggressive angelfishes.
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.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Paragobiodon
FYI: (Although I have been aware of the existence of this species for many years my first opportunity to observe it in the flesh came only recently when I managed to acquire a pair from T.M.C. in Manchester. I have since seen more there and hopefully this reflects an upturn in the awareness of collectors that fish species like these are desirable for marine aquaria. I acquired the pair and subsequently found them to be the most difficult to persuade to feed. However, I was attempting this in a relatively bare holding aquarium and things changed immediately when I introduced them to a colony of Pocillopora damicornis. The settling in process lasted only a few hours and the condition of the gobies improved immeasurably in only a short space of time. Undoubtedly the aquarium into which they were stocked has plenty of live food in residence and no competing species but my personal opinion is that the two little chaps just didn't feel happy in the absence of their host coral. It is easy to get a little sentimental about these things and the temptation is always there to impose human feelings on fish but in this case I feel the evidence speaks for itself. The range of this species fits quite closely with the rest of the genus as the fact that they occupy different corals means that several species can coexist without competition. - pers com w/Tristan Lougher)
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
