Sand Goby

• The males guard the eggs under empty bivalve shells, which they clean out and prepare as a nest.
• Although it is not considered territorial, it can show aggression towards other species.
• It is sometimes kept in public aquaria.
• It is one of the most abundant fish on Europe's sandy seabeds, and its ecological role carries far more weight than its size: it is a staple food of flatfish, sea bass and seabirds.
• It lives barely one or two years, with one generation per year: most die after breeding.
• The male digs a nest beneath an empty bivalve shell, attracts a female and guards the eggs, fanning them with his fins until they hatch.
• It is almost transparent and camouflages itself on the sand with an extremely fine speckling that changes shade to match the substrate.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)

Habitat & environment

European marine and brackish waters, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, on sandy or muddy bottoms between 4 and 200 m deep

Sexual maturity

12 months

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; FishBase; Fishipedia; Wikipedia (Sand goby)

Best time: All year round on shallow sandy and muddy bottoms