# Dragonfish



## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

hello, I have a 10 gallon aquarium with 2 platies, 2 headlight tail light tetras, 2 oto catfish, and a dragon fish. ive had all the other fish for a while, their doing fine. i just got my dragon fish a few days ago, and at first he just sat in the corner (i had the light on) and i accidentaly left it on overnight. in the morning i couldnt seem to find him, then i saw his tail barely showing in a little cave type thing in my tank, which im surprised he fit into since its not very big, he must be very flexible. i heard theyre nocturnal eaters, so i put some freeze dried brine shrimp in there overnight, and it was gone in the morning (my other fish probably ate it). i also heard that since they have small eyes other fish often eat their food before they find it, is there anything i can do to make sure hes getting enough food? i know my fish variety isnt the best, and that i should have 5 or 6 platies instead of 2 platies and two tetras i know but they seem to be fine so im not going to mess with that. any help would be appreciated.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

1. Too Small of tank

2. Their BW not FW fish

3. My guess is he's sick and not doing well hence the odd behavior


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## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

hmm, i heard they will do fine in brackish or freshwater, and my friend has one and he does fine (he does have a slightly larger tank). ive also heard about different sizes, and this one is only about maybe 3 inches long, and the petstore told me that it would most likely only grow another 1\2 inch tops. anyway, im not planning on getting rid of him since my pet store doesnt do well with returns, i guess i should have looked into it but too late now. i guess what i was asking was is there anything i can do with my tank or anything that might help the fish?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

No there isn't. Keeping him/her will only give them a slow, uncomfortable; even painful death.

P.S. Dont believe petstores. They are out to make money.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/dragonfish.php
http://whozoo.org/Anlife2001/johangus/jg_dragonfish.htm


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Just to let you know. If your talking about a "dragon/violet goby" there are different subspecies or whatever you'd like to call them. One likes almost freshwater conditions, another likes brackish conditions, and the other likes close to marine conditions. On top of it, there is also a pure saltwater goby referred to as "dragon goby", but looks a lot different.

But, despite that, they should be kept in at least 1.003-1.004 in sg levels unless you can personally tell what type they are (which no ones really able to easily do...). I've seen ones get white slime coatings and die, get giant yellowish to orange tumors in the mouth, and just die in pure freshwater water. And as another note, there are individuals that get over 2 feet in length.


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## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

alright well first of all the sign for the fish species just said dragon fish so im not sure what kind it is, but its a clearish whitish color kind of like albino if that helps any. im not sure if your thinking of something bigger, but its not that big, i understand that it may grow but they said these dont grow much bigger (i understand that they dont know everything, but i highly doubt their going to sell me something that could possible be too big to even fit in my tank comfortably,i didd tell them i had a 10 gallon). and my friend has one that looks almost exactly the same, and has had him for a while and he is perfectly fine with the exact same conditions. i understand it probably wasnt the best decision, but i cant get rid of it, so are there still any other suggestions besides getting rid of it?


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

they dont care what tank you have. They absolutely will sell you a fish that wont fit in your tank.

The only way to not intentionaly make this fish suffer: buya 40g tank and make it brackish.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

sorry, but you got doopped. Violet gobies or dragonfish are often sold as freshwater fish, and most employees of fish stores aren't even aware of them being a brackish water fish. Unfortunately it often goes higher than the fish store selling them as freshwater fish, its also the wholesaler who sells them as freshwater fish.

These fish easily push 20 inches long, and would be as long as your tank is long if not longer.


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## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

wow, well i definitely am not upgrading anytime soon, so thats out of the question. i had no idea they were brackish. but heres the thing, my friend has had one for about a year and hes perfectly fine, not more than 5 inches and in a ten gallon freshwater. could it be a fluke or is it possible for it to survive in my tank? and the petstore had had these for a while in freshwater, and they hadnt grown much over time, could it be that they are maybe a smaller species or not even a real dragon fish? correction for my old post, its actually silverish. and he has actually been active, out and about swimming around. if he does survive, even for a little while, the brine freeze dried shrimp im feeding him float, and ive never seen him go to the top of the water. is there any other suggestions on feeding? i do have some frozen bloodworms also. maybe i can get a picture sometime, but any more help is appreciated


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Ack, dragon gobies are intensely slow growers to begin with, but the fact that it's in a ten gallon freshwater tank slows it down further. Eventually, it will have problems.


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## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

well do you have any idea how soon? and u mean problems that will be fatal?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Usually brackish fish that are subjected to freshwater have a life of 6 months to a year, depending on the fish. Usually they surcum to a disease, such as the tumors that flamingo was pointing out, or osmoregulatory failure. 

A fish that is subjected to a too small of a tank can have numerous demises. Everything from water quality because the fish just overloads the bioload of the tank, to stunting emaciation and malnutrition.

As for the food issue, bloodworms would be the better choice, although these fish are notoriously hard to feed. I've had the best success with a clear turkey baster held right in front of their mouth squirting out slowly some bloodworms.


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## Ackerman651 (Oct 30, 2006)

alright well ill be willing to do almost anything besides upgrade to a larger tank. im assuming that brackish water will harm all my other fish (platies, tetras, oto catfish) so i cant add that to the water. ive already realized that this fish is probably going to die, but i would like to prolong its life as long as possible. is there ANYTHING else i can do to help it?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

This fish normally eats by scooping up big mouthfuls of sand and straining out the edible bits. This of course makes it a bit tricky to feed in a gravel-bottomed tank. Sometimes you'll find a specimen that eats live worms, like blackworms or bloodworms, with no problems, but other foods are not going to give reliable results much of the time. Your best bet is tro try to give it the best variety of squshy foods that sink to the bottom.

Of course, we are all assuming that you indeed have a dragonfish. We don't really know WHAT it is, do we?


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## mayastarocker (Dec 29, 2006)

I agree with flamingo, I think it is a dragon/violet goby and I have seen them at Petsmart. I can't say they are the prettiest fish out there. Anyway, you may have to get a bigger tank if you want the goby to be healthy.


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