Dragon Gobies (Violet Goby)

[Anonymous]

Has anyone been successful keeping Dragon Gobies in fresh water vs. brackish?

[shev]

Dragon fish are brackish. i kept one in a semi brackish, it developed a slime, so i added more salt and it went away. found on the Atlantic coast of Georgia in to Texas and all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and the northern coast of Brazil, and florida.

[Osiris]

Wow this new forum is trippin! But just gotta get used to it.

They can indeed live in both but they will indeed get very sick in FW over a short time period...As their immune system does best with a SG of 1.014, it's not all that difficult to do either, just go get urself some instant ocean salt..and slowly add salt and measure the SG levels...since it is so low u dont need like the skimmer and all that.

[Cichlid Man]

Dragongobies are one of the brackish fish that can live in complete FW if aclimatized over a period of time, but as Shev and Malawian Pro said, BW will ensure the ultimate well being of these gobies.

[Pufferpunk]

I kept one a while back, in FW. It developed reddish tumors all over it's body, including inside it's mouth. Eventyally, it died because it couldn't eat. I am sure this was caused by forcing this BW fish into living in FW, which compromised it's immune system.

[dr.fishopolis]

forgive my ignorance in advance. my mollies who share a 75G brackish tank with a 10 inch violet goby have recently developed Ich. i know tetras and loaches and elephant nosed fish are all scaleless... but are violet gobies? should i remove him(or her) while treating his tankmates?

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, they are scaless. Try raising the temp to 86 & doing large water changes. That whould take care of the ick, w/o using meds. You would be better off quarantining tthe sick fish for treatment.

[dr.fishopolis]

well now i do feel better having asked. i felt kind of foolish not really being able to distinguish scale-less fish from scaled(i did search around for a list but came up empty handed). i have been changing water very frequant to keep it down(about a forth to a third of the tank). i had raised the temp to 80 degree/salt combo. i will raise it to 86 and keep changing water. 50% too much? everyone seems pretty happy and unstressed currently. other than a few flashers and some rubbing everyone is still eating and active. thanks for the advice!

[Pufferpunk]

raise it to 86 and keep changing water. 50%

Perfect!

[dr.fishopolis]

thanks again for the prompt response! (from me and my splishing friends)

^_____^

[Rusaalka]

Say hello to Henry


He's very young, only about 4 inches long, and lived successfully and healthily in my freshwater tank for about two monthes. No problems developed, but he has been moved into brackish water for the sake of his maximum wellbeing.

He's the most kind and peaceful guy I've ever owned. Less confrontational than a goldfish.

As far as I know, though, the reddish cysts are due to incompatible water type.

[Pufferpunk]

Henry would really prefer a smaller substrate to sift thru--sand would be best. Before I knew better, I kept a dragon in FW. It developed red tumors throughout it's body--poor immune system from being kept in FW.

[Rusaalka]

Yeah, the tank he's in now has much smaller substrate. Not sand, but better than what he had before... Hopefully he'll be happier for a while at least!

[fishboy]

whats the minimum tank for these guys? The petsmart near me keeps 3 or 4 in a 10 gallon, I love one of them, he's so lively. They are mixed with livebearer and rosey red fry in the hope that the fry will be eaten. I want one but i don't think i could get a big enough tank

[flamingo]

I think a good tank size would be a 50-60 gallon.

Most live fine in fw for about 6 months, then (like already stated) develop red sores mostly in they're mouth, or develop a whitish slime and die.

Try aqualandpetsplus.com

All I remember is they sift through sand and rake out food with they're tiny teeth. They do best with a sg of 1.006-1.012. Can be kept with bumblebee gobies, freshwater flounders(soles), and other peaceful fish.

[fishboy]

i can't get a tank that big