Brazilian sand stargazer

Where they come from

Brazilian sand stargazers are little ambush predators from the coast of Brazil. Think shallow sandy flats and gentle surf zones with scattered rubble. They spend most of the day buried with just their eyes and mouth showing, watching the world go by and waiting for something snack-sized to drift past.

Setting up their tank

Give them a tank that is more beach than reef. Open sand is the main thing. Rock is fine, but keep it stable and off to the sides so it will not collapse when they dig.

• Tank size: 20 long for a single fish works, but 30-40 gallons is more forgiving.
• Substrate: sugar-fine aragonite, 2-4 inches deep. Skip crushed coral and sharp sand.
• Rockwork: place rock directly on the glass or a support grid, then add sand around it.
• Flow: gentle to moderate across the sand. Create calm pockets so food can settle near them.
• Lid: tight-fitting. They jump when startled.
• Lighting: moderate to low. They do not need reef lights.
• Filtration: normal marine setup. A refugium that grows pods helps a lot.

Acclimation wise, drip acclimate, keep the lights low, and release them with pumps off so they can find the sand and bury without getting blown around.

What to feed them

They are ambush micropredators. Most new imports ignore pellets and flakes. Start with movement and scent to get their attention, then wean to frozen.

• Starter foods: live enriched brine shrimp, live mysis, copepods, amphipods. Rinsed live blackworms can work as a short-term trigger.
• Frozen options: mysis, Calanus, finely chopped raw shrimp/scallop/fish, enriched brine (as a bridge, not a staple).
• Vitamins: a few drops of Selcon or similar on frozen a few times a week helps.
• Frequency: 2-3 small feeds per day at first. They have small stomachs.

How they behave and who they get along with

You will mostly see eyes and a frown poking out of the sand. They are calm, quick to strike, and then gone again. With their own kind, they can be snippy in tight quarters. A pair may work in a larger, sand-heavy setup, but be ready to separate.

• Good tankmates: small, peaceful fish that ignore the sand bed like assessors, small cardinals, firefish, neon gobies.
• Use caution: midwater hogs that outcompete at feeding time (chromis, anthias). You can make it work with target feeding.
• Avoid: wrasses, hawkfish, dottybacks, larger gobies that sift sand, predatory crabs, big hermits, and anything that might view a small buried fish as a snack.

Breeding tips

I have not seen a confirmed home spawn for Brazilian sand stargazers, and there is not much published on their courtship. Realistically, this is a long shot in a home tank.

• If you try, think species-only tank with lots of uninterrupted sand and very gentle flow.
• Condition with frequent, rich feeds and keep disturbances low around dusk.
• Larvae would likely be tiny and planktonic, needing live rotifers and copepods in a separate rearing setup. That is a big project.

Common problems to watch for

• Not eating or getting thin: a pinched belly and sunken area behind the head are early signs. Go back to live foods and cut the flow during feeding.
• Abrasions on the face or body: usually coarse sand. Swap to finer sand and keep water clean.
• Collapsed burrows or rock falls: happens if rock sits on sand. Set rock on the glass first.
• Harassment: fast, nippy, or sand-disturbing fish stress them into hiding and starvation. Rehome bullies if needed.
• Parasites from wild-caught stock: quarantine is worth the time. Move them in a container rather than a net to protect their skin.
• Jumping and equipment hazards: cover overflows and intakes with guards or sponges. They can shoot straight up when startled.