Violet (Dragon) Goby

[Cubbies1979]

I was wondering if any of you might know about Dragon Gobys. I purchased one which recently died. Ive heard mixed review as wheather they are fresh or brackish fish. I kept mine in a 55gal w/ 2 Tiger Barbs, 4 Gold Barbs, 1 Tinfoil Barb, 1 Cat Shark, 1 Red tail shark, 1 Ghost Knife, 1 Giant Blue Gourami (the one w/ 2 black dots) 1 Pleco, and 2 Giant Danios.

The Goby seemed to be fine unitl one morning It was found dead at the bottom of the tank. I had the store send it off to be examined and not imediate signs of death were found. The only strange sign was an approx 1/4 inch wide by 1 inch long dark green spot on his belly just behind his mouth.

Have any of you ever experienced this before or heard of this ??

 

[reignman40]

The Violet Goby is a brackish water fish. It can "survive" in freshwater but that could have been the ultimate cause of his demise. I live in Spokane, WA and unfortunately here every single store I have ever seen the Dragon Fish in they are kept in freshwater. But this is a brackish water fish.

Curtis

 

[Chill]

They do prefer brackish water but they can survive in fresh so if you only had it a short time then it probably wasn't being in fresh water that killed it. They have very small eyes and are slow feeders (they actually sift the substrate to feed). They don't compete well for food - was it getting enough to eat? I also woudn't keep them with tiger barbs; despite their appearance they are very peaceful and too slow to defend themselves from nippy barbs. I have seen tiger barbs strip the fins off violet gobies.

 

[Candycat21]

I disagree. Violet Gobies need to be kept in a brackish aquarium for a reason. When kept in freshwater tanks sure they may live "okay" but they won't thrive and they'll more than likely be more disease prone because they aren't in the right tank setup.
You wouldn't keep a saltwater fish in a freshwater tank setup, so why would you keep a Goby in a freshwater...
Brackish tanks aren't difficult to setup and I think in the long run, you'd be better off and your fish would be happier
Dragon Gobies are what you call filter feeders. They sift through the sand eating whatever is in it (food wise...no wastes!) They prefer live and frozen foods such as bloodworms and brineshrimp, beefheart etc.
They do get big...a good 2 feet at least so make sure you have a large tank for him.
Chill was right...Dragon Gobies aren't aggressive...they can be territorial to their own kind and any other bottom dweller if there isn't enough space and can inflict serious wounds to other fish with their sharp teeth, though tiny.
They are practically blind and most of the time will just lay on the bottom or burry themselves in the substrate which is another reason to have either sand or very fine gravel as the courser, bigger gravel can scratch them which in turn could get infected if not seen right away.
They do make easy targets for more aggressive, quicker moving fish like the bards, cichlids etc, so I wouldn't house them in the same tank together...also because of the fact that they aren't brackish fish like the Goby.
I will have to do more research on the green spot under his belly. I've seen it before but just can't remember exactly what causes it and what it is. If you find out before let us know!! :hi:
Just as an fyi, your tank seems a little crowded as far as the fish that you still have in it go. What kind of "cat shark" is it? Do you know the name of it? If it's a columbian shark or silver-tip shark then he will need to be in a ful marine setup as he matures. That tinfoil also needs to be kept in a group, but it will outgrow a 55..it'll get a good 13 inches or more.
Anyways, keep us posted on what the store comes up with! I'm interested to know
Good luck and I'm sorry about your dragon

 

[Chill]

We don't disagree Candycat. I didn't say that it was all right to keep a Violet Goby in freshwater. I just said that it probably didn't cause the death in a short period of time. I have seen them kept in fresh water for well over a year before they were moved to proper accomadations. That doesn't make it right it just makes it seem unlikely that one would die simply from being kept in freshwater for what appears to be a relatively short time.. I'm sorry I wasn't clear. To be clear they should be kept in a large brackish tank.