Common name/s: Clay or African Goby

Scientific name: Batanga Lebretonis microphthalmus (sometimes referred to as Dormitator Lebretonis)

Family: Eleotridae (sleepers)

Origin: Estuaries, brackish streams, lagoons and mangrove swamps from Senegal to S. Angola

Maximum size: 12.5cm, tend to be closer to 10cm

Care: BW, minimum 10g, up to SG 1.010, can tolerate fluctuations quite well, pH 7.5-8.5, temp around 25c

Feeding: Omnivores – pretty much anything although may take some time to get used to veggies

Breeding: Male has longer posterior rays in the second dorsal and anal fins apparently, though I only have one Clay so nothing to compare it against!
Can be breed in the aquarium and I presume this is similar to other BW gobies, but can’t find any info to check!

Comments: Sociable but apparently territorial with others of own kind, friendly, mixes well with other fish but may eat smaller fish even if it’s left them alone before (no sign of this as yet!), hardy. Can be kept as Specimen / mixed sex pair or small mixed group if tank is large enough for each to have their own territory. This fish is a real character and good addition to a BW aquarium.

I have a sole Clay sharing a tank with a pair of Knight Gobies and 2 female black mollies. He gets on very well with all - especially the mollies and can often be found exploring the tank or napping with them. Nowehere near as shy as the Knight Gobies, which is just as well as you hardly every see them!