MY dragon fish

[ALFA WOLF]

I had bought 5 dragon fish about 4 inches long each. I had them in a 30 gallon tank. I figured that when they get to about 8 inches i will move them into a bigger tank well guess what one died the other died also then the 2 lastones were fighting over territory i guess so one died their and the winnign one died of wounds also. IN THE SAME WEEK. I had ghost shrmp in their and everynight i gave them 1 and a half cubes of frezed blood worms. They would eat them 2 and the next day i would give them the other half and they were doign fine till they just kept getting picked off and the water was fine temperature perfect everything was good exept they just did not last.

[shev]

I couldnt figure out what lastone fish were, then I realized it was a mistake and should say last ones.

how much salt did you have in the tank? and when you said the water was fine, what were the parameters?

are you sure the winning one died of wounds? saltless water causes red tomber things on violet gobies. we are talking about violet gobies right? and not a different fish that uses dragon in their common name, like bichirs or arowanas are often times called dragon fish, or dragon eels.

[Osiris]

ok number one, if these are violet gobies, they belong in half Saltwater tank, of 1.016 SG levels. 30G is way to little hence why your losing them, way too small of space and their fighting over it, they will eventually kill each other off, they need at least a 50g tank for one! I would take them back, if their in FW they will slowly die as their immune systems get weaker and weaker, and the stress from being in such a small tank will also prolly kill them.

Sorry had to be the barrier of bad news, but gotta say it like it is.

[ALFA WOLF]

K they were 4 each in 30 gallon when they get to 8 i woudl change tank. to 50 gallon or more.

[Larry-T]

I actually raised six violet gobies to 14" each in a 30 gal tank and never lost a fish. I kept slowly cycling the salinity from 1.010 to 1.023 and used a Skilter 400 as my filter. I used a white sand bottom, lots of PVC tubing, and no heater.

I finally decided that I didn't want to set up a larger tank for breeding, so I sold them off.

[Scuba Kid]

six 14" fish in a 30 gallon tank is pretty much torture.

[Osiris]

i hear ya scuba, like putting me in a pink kiddy pool, *doh* i prefer blue ones actually

[ALFA WOLF]

are u guys making fun of me and my kiddie pool for a pond idea lol.

[Osiris]

lol not at all, once i have basement i plan on using kiddie pools as grow outs for fry...nice large and cheap!

[ALFA WOLF]

lol people goign to think you doing somthgin illegal their its funny if u see someone take kiddie pools into their base ment about everyday. but im going to hae a underground pool in my room when my sister moves.

[Osiris]

LMAO uh huh, well my folks do have that inground pool...be good for Front's grow out lol


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Back to topic

[ALFA WOLF]

u all will jsut see i can to wonders with a floor sledge hammer fish filter and a tank.

[shev]

I'm sure larry T knows what he's doing. Dragon fish never struck me as very territorial anyway. as long as you have enough caves and stuff.

[Osiris]

really shev? they do if u have more then one...even with lots of caves in my experience of keeping them

[Larry-T]

Originally Posted by Scuba Kid

six 14" fish in a 30 gallon tank is pretty much torture.

Wrong. While Putting 1 14" Oscar in a 30 gal tank would be torture, the Violet Gobies did fine. You have to know the requirements of the fish and how to properly keep them. With all of those fish in the 30, you barely saw them until they were fed. Then they came out from the PVC pipe and from under the sand and pumped their mouths like crazy sucking in the food. I closely monitored the water conditions and sold six great fish that had lived in that tank over a year without a scar on them.

As for the "inch per gallon" rule.........

Pure mythology

[ALFA WOLF]

pure mythology works pretty good though.

[Larry-T]

I stopped worrying about inches per gallon back in the 1970's. I look at the fish, analyze their behavior, territorial needs, body form, expected oxygen requirements, and what kind of maintenance I can give them. Then I put in up to what looks good. It seems to work for me.