# What the heck is this?



## stuckinthemiddle (Feb 26, 2008)

What the heck is this? I know this isnt a cichlid, but I dont even know where to begin to search. Hopefully the Mods will be forgiving.... 










I was told its some type of sand goby but I cant find it anywhere on the web. By the way, this thing is a fish murderer!

Thanks all.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

One of the sleeper gobies? Marble maybe? _Oxyeleotris marmoratus_

Warning, if it is, they get huge and quite willing to bite the hand that feeds them.


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## a7oneal (Dec 30, 2004)

Certainly on the right track, if not on top of it... anything that fits in it's mouth is food.


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## DarbX1605 (Apr 7, 2008)

If not the Oxyeleotris marmoratus, could be:

Freshwater Lionfish / Stonefish

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Stonefish.htm

The name is a misnomer as it is Brackish. They are predators and can reach over a foot.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

yeah its a stone fish.i had one it got to be close to a foot and would inhale 2 or 3 gold fish at a time.i would get another if i ran across one.


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## Raul-7 (Jan 31, 2004)

It definitely does not look like the stonefish posted in that link. Morphologically it lacks the barbels and the overall body shape is different.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I'd think the sleeper goby over the stonefish myself given the pics.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

not even close 
sleeper goby








stone fish


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## alishanaquasoc (Oct 4, 2005)

Yes close. I believe dwarfpike is correct. Marbled sleeper goby, Oxyeleotris marmorata.

http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Country/Co ... =marmorata

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/fresh- ... d-goby.htm


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i don't think so tim,
click on your first link then click on the pic it will show side profiles and spot patterns that aren't even close.plus i mentioned i owned one for years and it looks just like the one he posted only bigger.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

well it is definitely NOT the stone fish, these fish look so different i have no idea some someone could mistake them... it is 100000000% the Marbled sleeper goby AKA Oxyeleotris marmorata


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## DarbX1605 (Apr 7, 2008)

Thanks for the response, gage.

I agree that it is the sleeper goby - however I have seen juvenile stonefish that can pull off a similar look - and that picture in the pot does not give us any frame of reference on size. ****, it could be one of those 2" tall pots for all we know.

I have never seen sleeper gobies in pet stores, and that's where I'm assuming this came from.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i was completely serious, it looks nothing like a stonefish... look at it and you will notice :lol:

*** seen them in stores before, they are always on order lists in my neck of the woods (i have access to one of my LFS's fish lists.

why does size matter? both species had to be that small at some point...


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i was going to post something but it wont matter call it a sleeper gobie.


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## Tongue33 (Sep 17, 2007)

dwarfpike said:


> Marble maybe? _Oxyeleotris marmoratus_
> 
> .


Correct.

AKA Marbled Goby


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## aussieafricans (Dec 19, 2007)

looks like one of our Aussie sleepy cod 
seehttp://images.google.com.au/imgres?i ... n%26sa%3DN

BEN

(just a suggestion) :thumb:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

there is more then one spp of sleeper goby, it is not that one, all you gotta do is look at the pictures man...


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

oook

Marbled Sleeper:









stone fish:









the first dead give away is the length of the snout, stonefish have a very short nose, and marbled sleepers have a long nose, like the OP's, second, look at the dorsal closed to the head, the stone fish have 3 spines, and the fin isnt all that fin looking as opposed to spines, whereas the Marbled sleeper has multiple spines and is more looking like a fin, as does the OP's, also, look at the second dorsal and the anal fin, see how on the stone fish it almost looks eel like in the sense that it goes from before mid body all the way to the tail, and the dorsal starts a tad after mid body to the tail, the OP's fish does NOT have this, its has normal sleeper goby fin, smaller and more fin like.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

dwarfpike said:


> One of the sleeper gobies? Marble maybe? _Oxyeleotris marmoratus_
> 
> Warning, if it is, they get huge and quite willing to bite the hand that feeds them.


No doubt, Dwarfpike hit it on the nail. Marbled goby, for sure. Had one for over 15 years. Got to around 20" or so. I fed mine with a 1 1/2" tube to its mouth, so I really don't know, personally, what it's bite is like. Large CA cichlids didn't mess with it and left it alone but there was no way it would of got any food with out feeding it directly with a tube up to its mouth.
Cool fish, but not too exiting :lol: I swear to god, once the fish got big, it would go months with out moving! It really was like an extra large rock in the tank. Because of it's inactivity, I think it could be housed in a smaller tank then other fish that get 20" or more.

I have a very poor, old picture from over 20 years back of my marbled goby when it was still quite small.









The marbled goby is in the cave on the right side, below the male black belt, just to the left of the blackbelt. Must of had a pretty good bite because it owned a cave, and no one bothered it. Other tankmates at the time were a female RD, 2 female dovii, blackshark,RBP, male port acara and 2 male cons in a 6 ft. 180 gal. When it got bigger, it just lied in the back like a big rock. If I seen them again at an LFS, I'd certainly buy one.
Here's a close up shot, showing it's face, cropped from the last picture: 
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