Looking For a Peaceful Vampire?

Stonogobiops dracula is not a vampire, or a bloodsucker of any kind really. More commonly called Dracula Gobies, or Dracula Shrimp Gobies, these little fish get their name more from their coloration than anything else. In old films, Count Dracula often wore a tuxedo, and these colors are matched somewhat by the stark black stripes on the white body of the Goby, with every other stripe giving the fish a splash of blood red and voila! Dracula.

This is a fish with a very small native range, being found really only around a few islands in the western Indian Ocean. This small range and remote location results in these fish being somewhat rarer than most other Shrimp Gobies. In these locations, they're usually found on relatively shallow reef edges (less than 100 feet of water -ish) and close to cover and where there is adequate sand for them to burrow out homes and forage for food. They are usually found either singly or in pairs and frequently sharing a burrow with a Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli). This pairing, and the unique display it creates is achievable in the home aquarium. The fish and the shrimp will cohabit the same burrow and both will maintain it. It's one of the coolest displays of symbiotic behavior you can see in a personal tank.

Speaking of the home aquarium, these are small fish, rarely getting bigger than two and half inches long or so. This means that even a pair won't need a big tank as they usually won't range far from their home burrow. A tank as small as 20 gallons could easily support two of them and a Pistol Shrimp. This aquarium should feature a sand bed that isn't too course, or too fine. Sugar and politic sand will collapse on them when they are trying to burrow, and crushed coral will be too big for them to move around effectively. The best substrate is mixed grain sand between 1mm and 5mm. Any rockwork included in the display should be solidly placed at the bottom of the aquarium so that it cannot be undermined by their digging. Aquariums that feature Dracula Gobies should always be covered. It seems strange that a fish that lives near the bottom and digs / burrows would be a threat to jump out of the tank, but they can and have.

There is nothing Dracula-like about these fish when it comes to dinnertime and they are very straightforward to feed. They'll happily accept a wide variety of frozen (thawed) food like Gamma Mysis, Chopped Prawn and Mussel, Bloodworms, and any of the fortified brine products that Gamma has on offer (among other things). They'll also take Nutramar Ova and can be trained over time to also take Nutramar Complete Pellets. The one challenge to feeding them is that they are very active, and need to be fed at least twice a day, and more wouldn't hurt (getting them on pellets will make this easier, as autofeeders can be a real difference maker). They are also very shy and tend to hide when there are fast movements in or around the tank.

Which leads us nicely into the tankmate discussion. To be totally fair, just having two of these fish in a display with nothing else but the Shrimp Goby and a cleanup crew make a really compelling viewing experience. If you're looking for more fish in this tank, Dracula Gobies are best kept in aquariums that don't also feature large, aggressive, or even fast-moving fish that could scare them into hiding through meal times. Fish like Cardinals, Fairy Wrasses, Pencil Wrasses, Blennies, the smaller and more peaceful clownfish, Dragonettes, and Even Blue Green Chromis are good choices. Also avoid fish that would make a meal of the Goby like Lionfish or Groupers (even though they are nice and slow usually). These Gobies usually won't bother much with other Gobies but could be aggressive with other Shrimp Gobies they aren't paired with, unless the display is big enough to house them all. Draculas are low risk with corals, and other inverts like Snails, Cleaner Shrimp, Sea Stars etc, but there is a risk they could inadvertently bury sand bed corals like Fungias, so keep this in mind when placing them in a reef tank.

These are some of the aquarium keeping hobby's best fish, especially for rare fish! They stay small, don't require anything special in the way of water quality, and are generally very hardy as long as they get enough food. If you've ever wanted something different and cool for a small display, or as an element of a larger, peaceful display, Dracula Gobies should be high on your list. Head to your Local Fish Store and ask them about getting you a pair, and maybe a Pistol Shrimp from Quality Marine today!