Dragon goby problems

[domjd05]

We have been given a 10'' dragon goby that eats small fish (tetras, danios, and even a venustrus cichlid) We are in the process of switching him from freshwater to brackish.

He spends a lot of his time hiding, and only seems to strike at night.

We would like to know if anyone can help us with tankmates for this big guy. So far we have read that other gobies will do well, but we are afraid he will eat them because of their small size.. and we need a fish that can live in brackish water.

[Red]

bigger mono's, archer fish and other bigger brackish fish..
How big of tank?

[Northernguy]

Start calling lfs in your area and see if they have any large africans that have been donated lately.
Check Craig's list.Look at tanks that are for sale with fish.They might have an african tank.
I think you will need a full grown fish for a tank mate and then you will have to hope they get along!10" is a big Goby!
Just my 2 cents.Hope it helps.:22:

[Red]

Start calling lfs in your area and see if they have any large africans that have been donated lately.
Check Craig's list.Look at tanks that are for sale with fish.They might have an african tank.
I think you will need a full grown fish for a tank mate and then you will have to hope they get along!10" is a big Goby!
Just my 2 cents.Hope it helps.:22:

Africans aren't brackish NG, and he is putting them into a brackish tank..
and I just remember one, anableps are good too!

[Northernguy]

I slipped! Sorry about that domjd05!
Besides what Red mentioned there are not many probably easily available fish to mix in there.

[domjd05]

I know it, that's why I turned to you folks, thanks for all the advice, I'll keep poking around, hopefully get some pictures, he is pretty big and looks real mean... although everybody says they are just big teddy bears.. this guy is a killer for sure, his previous owner must of fed him feeder goldfish or something..

[domjd05]

We have been looking around and we like the idea of some monos, possibly a puffer and we were wondering if a Scat would be a good fish for this setup?

The size of the tank is approx 30g.

[rich311k]

Monos and scats will get way to big, several different kinds of puffers would work however.

[smaug]

Your tank is way small for the goby.The ones I have seen get at least 15".I am considering one for a 58 gal and have been soundly whipped welty on this site for it.{Im still doin it:14: }.Anyway,the 30 is too small for him he needs at least 55gallons.As for mates,I am considering archers,blowfish [figure8] and possibly a freshwater lionfish.Keep your stock light with brackwater,they are not quite as forgiving as fresh.Most of all get a bigger tank or find a new home for the goby.

[domjd05]

eh... This fish was kept in a 55 for his entire life before I had him.. and I see NO difference in his behavior in this smaller tank vs. the tank he was in before, I am friends with the person who kept him, and they have agreed he is acting the same... I will only be putting 1 or 2 other tankmates in with him... if any at all at this point.

The people on this site may have there opinions about it and thats fine.

[smaug]

Im not saying that the reason he is eating fish is because his tank is too small.I am informing you that the tank is far too small for any fish over 6".Its a simple fact.The goby has a possibility of reaching 24"[not avg for tank kept]and will certainly make 15".A 15" fish is not meant to be kept in a tank as small as a 30 gal.You came asking for advice on this fish and I am giving it.It needs a bigger tank.

[domjd05]

That said, I don't mean to step on anybodys toes who have been here a lot longer than I... this is a temporary residence, and from what I can tell the fish is just as happy here as he was in my 55.

[smaug]

Its good it is a temp tank.Define happy?Ive never been able to catch that emotion in my fish:ssuprised: Good luck with him and keep us posted.

[domjd05]

...By happy I mean, he's not stressed, diseased, and he's eating.



If his behavior is the same in the 30 as it was in the 55 I don't see the problem... not to mention the water quality in the 30 is better as I am running 2 filters on it.

Thanks for your advice, I'll update this thread later with my progress.


:hmm3grin2orange:

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

The 30 will probably be OK temporarily (betcha didn't see that one coming, Smaug), but yeah in the long run you're going to need something a lot larger.

How old is the fish?
As far as tankmates go, in a tank that size, I would say none. Once you get a larger tank, scats, monos, archers, and other large, non bottom-dwelling, peaceful fish may be viable options. If you come across an excessively large tank (>100 gal probably), other violet gobies of similar size may be accommodated. Smaller ones will be attacked and probably killed.

When I stop to think about it, I was probably one of the ones that said violet gobies are teddy bears. Mine has never eaten so much as a guppy, but I keep hearing stories of them being ravenous predators. A friend of mine acquired (and quickly sold) an adult that was over 24" long. The previous owner had to get rid of it because it started eating its tankmates.

[domjd05]

Yeah, I know that the person who had it before me was giving it feeder goldfish, so I knew what I was getting into, yet all my research somehow brainwashed me into thinking it would be fine with the tougher cichlids... wrong.

Still in the process of acclimating the tank to a brackish level.. he is doing great.

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

Glad to hear the goby is doing well.
How large were the cichlids? Larger than the goby's head?