''Valenciennea'' is a genus of small, bottom-dwelling fish in the family Gobiidae. They are found over sandy bottoms, often at coral reefs in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. The members of the genus tend to rest directly on the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

for extended periods of time. While this is a common

behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

for members of the family, this genus also float motionless directly above the substrate, which is why they are sometimes called glider gobies. Their resting behavior has resulted in the vernacular name " sleeper gobies", which invites confusion with the related family

Eleotridae Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of th ...

. The members of this genus are known to be

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

sand-sifters; to eat, they simply engulf entire mouthfuls of sand which they expel through their gills. Specialized structures in their gills filter small crustaceans and worms as the sand is expelled. It is this specific trait that makes some members of the genus attractive to the marine aquarist, and they are often introduced into a marine aquarium for sand-sifting. Some of the species are known to be

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...

. The genus was named after notable French zoologist

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...

. These fish are difficult to keep in a tank. Tanks with plenty of live sand and live rock are recommended. Offer foods such as sinking shrimp pellets. Fish may die even if eating properly.

Species

There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136373 Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker Gobiinae