dragon fish

[pica_nuttalli]

I honestly don't see that much difference..there it is though for anyone who's curious.

welcome to the wonderful world of fish identification....

 

[offutt_chris]

hey,

sorry so long to respond, i was out for the weekend, but i had it for about a week. and how would keeping it in a bag help any?? also, i would not have got the fish if i knew it was a brackish fish. the staff at the LFS, did not bother to tell me this.

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

So, did you take it back already?

Adrea

 

[offutt_chris]

yea, i took it back on friday afternoon.

 

[Metaldragon]

I am new to this forum and from what I have read, I think this will be a place i will visit often. Anyway, I too had a violet goby. After having it for three days, it died. It would not eat and the last two days, it would swim at the top and fall to the bottom until it died. I am quite new with aquariums, but I have learned alot in the past few months. I have added a tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water. Is this ok for the goby? My friend has also has went through three gobies and all have died. The funny thing is, I read they are a hardy fish.

 

[veen]

wow, got lots of responses on this one! thanks for all the help guys. but by the time i had the $ and made it back to petsmart, the dragon was gone. sigh. i am thinking it probably wasn't a good idea anyway, considering what i've read about them having bad eyesight and not being able to eat unless the food's right in front of them.

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

Just my opinion for what it's worth:

Violets are hardy but not so easy to acclimate depending on the source and your pick of the litter...

You want the one that is chilling out not any that are bouncing of the tank walls or sticking their head out of the water ect...

I was reading here that they get a film on them when exposed to fw long term. It has a pic second up from bottom. Mine never developed this during my two weeks of indescision on changing my tank over to brackish (ph 8 and kh 6 here....I've read *somewhere* it makes a difference if the water is hard and alkali but no idea if that's specifically why mine never did that). Anyhow, I'd imagine common sense says you avoid filmy ones...

Adrea

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

There are two species of Dragon Gobie, Gobioides broussonetti and Gobioides peruanus (sp?), the later being the FW fish with Gobioides broussonetti requiring Brackish water to survive. The FW fish can be told apart from the other by its lack of vertiacl dark bands. Both are filter feeders and the largest they can normally manage is fry.

Actually, there are three... can't remeber the name of the third one, but I am sure that there are three. G. peruanus is low end to medium brackish, and G. broussonetti is fully freshwater (G. peruanus is often labeled as G. broussonetti also, the species that you're seeing in is very likely G. peruanus). Is there anyway to post pics?

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

According to fish base the original post on which species is fresh or brackish is correct...You got it backwards

I posted a pics from gobiidae on page three...the brussonetti is preserved though. First picture posted on this thread should work though..

The only other thing I've seen listed as "dragon goby" is the whitecheeeked goby (Rhinogobius wui). I had a pair but they didn't acclimate and died. They have froggy eyes they also puff their face up (I'm sure there's a better term just can't think of it...). They only get about two inches. Is that the third you were thinking of?

Adrea

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Fishbase makes many mistakes. I am sure that G. broussonetti is fully freshwater, and you are not likely to encounter one... If someone would tell me how to post pics, I could post pics of both G. broussonetti and G. peruanus. What you are seeing at your lfs is G. peruanus, the brackish species, I'm sure of it.

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

So here's the picture from Black Ghost.

Adrea

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Great, thanks for posting that... I just got that email today, I keep on forgetting to update my contact info here. Anyway, yes, that's the G. broussonetti photo that I was trying to post.

 

[michael3636]

I have had my violet/dragon gobi for about 3 months now, bought from the local petsmart store. I keep him with my other freshwater fish, but add a tablespoon of salt for each 5 gallons of water. He has been doing very well in the tank. I mix up his diet with shrimp pellets and frozen beef heart. I found that he can only eat 1/2 a cube at a feeding ( he is about 8"). He does love to burrow, and clears out the corners of the tank. Thats my two cents, thanks to everyone else, the info here has been great.

-michael

 

[Ranger]

My GF bought me one of those long ago, and it lived in my FW tank for a long time until it turned into a recluse and got stuck in some of my tank decor . Personally I thought it was one of the uglier things I've seen . But what the hay, every1 loves different things. Also, I don't consider these fish to be "aggressive" at all. It never bothered anything in my tank or went after any of the tiny feeder fish I occassionally put in their for his tankmates.

 

[the_patriot2004]

Could you have a violet goby in a 75 gallon tank with a BGK?

No, gobies are brackish, BGK aren't.

wow, got lots of responses on this one! thanks for all the help guys. but by the time i had the $ and made it back to petsmart, the dragon was gone. sigh. i am thinking it probably wasn't a good idea anyway, considering what i've read about them having bad eyesight and not being able to eat unless the food's right in front of them.

Ok, first Im going to dispense a notion that these "dragon fish" or violet gobies, as they really are, and im sure thats what it was-are only brackish water fish. these fish are not raised but caught in the wild, usually in estuaries, but sometimes swamps. they do often prefer brackish water, but will live in a freshwater tank, either warm or cold but they are more active in the warm water tank. i have had mine living in a FW tropical tank with some angels, scissortails, and a killi, and it is doing wonderfully. yes, they do have problems eating unless the foods right in front of them, but if you put the food right there its not usually a problem. its not an aggressive fish at all, and will run before fighting with other fish.