FireFly

hello i did it again!! i got 2 abandoned dragon fish. they are about 6 inches long each and i put them in the 30 gallon fish tank that the abandoned goldfish where in. (dont worry i gave them to my aunt who has a 9000 gallon pond lol). my concern is for one of the dragon fish. it looks like he has bloody lips and they are swollen? they arent showing an intrest in food but thats no surprise because i read that they might not eat for the first few days. i know they get roughly 20 inches so i cant keep them in the 30 gallon for long but i just couldnt let them rot where they were. i know they are a brakerish fish and im not quite sure how to make the water salty enough. i did add the one rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons like the container said of the aquarium salt. they are really neat and i would like to keep them for eva (of course with a larger fish tank in mind). any help would be greatly appreciated. hey if it wasnt for the advice i got here about the goldfish, they wouldnt have made it either ♥♥♥. i know my heart is way to big for my fish tank right now but they are still small and i at least want to try to get them healthy again. they looked so sad with their cute little beddy eyes thanks so much!! and take care

aquarist48

dragonfish
Hello FireFly and congrats on the rescue. See if the above link helps you any.
Too, if you could post a photo of the fish in question would be a great help so we can give you more information and to make sure we are all talking about the same species. There are Dragon Goby's and some folks call an Arrowana a dragon fish too.
You can also do a search at the top right hand side of this screen for "dragonfish" for more information.
Best of luck.
Ken

Amanda

Congrats on the rescue!! Best of luck!

iloveengl

From the size (adult at 20"), brackish water requirements, and beedy eyes , it sounds like a Dragon Goby. I have one of these and I totally know what you mean - I immediately fell in love with my little Melvin and went and bought a whole new set-up just for him.

You sound like you've done your research for your little rescues (bless you for taking them in). I add 2 teaspoons of Marine salt per gallon to make it 1.007 SG, so one rounded Tb per 5g should be about perfect.

Unfortunately, the poor things were probably housed in a tank with gravel bottoms. They feed by scooping substrate into their mouths and filtering it through their gills. They really really need sand, not gravel for their tank or they will end up with cut and swollen mouths . I feed mine mainly frozen blood worms & tubifex worms and then he also scoops up crisps and flakes that make it to the bottom.

These little cuties are basically blind, so they can't be with aggressive fish who will pick on them.

They love a nice cave to hide in. Mine likes to burrow under the decor to make his own caves. It's really cute to watch him swish the sand out.

Mine adjusted after about a week or so, and now he's out and about at all times of the day and night. He doesn't even get scared when I have to put my arm in the tank. They're just the friendliest fish.

More than one per tank is kinda tricky though. Because they are nearly blind and so timid, one will likely out compete the other for food. Definitely keep an eye on them during feeding to make sure both gobies are eating.

I have pictures and videos of my little Melvin posted. You can get an idea of how they filter their food and how vibrant their colors become.

I'm so glad you rescued them. They are so misunderstood and mishandled; thanks for taking them time to read up and ask questions about them.

Oh, this site has some good info and pictures: http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,...gon%20Goby.htm I've read a few other sites, but this one contains the most accurate information.

Edit: I didn't see right away that it was a link in aquarist48's post - there's more info there. I'm a little passionate about these guys.

Edit 2: They also go by "Violet Goby" and "Dragon Goby"; searching those terms in the forum search will give you a few more threads, too.

FireFly

wow.. that link sure did help ty very much. sadly one of the dragon fish passed away this morning he or she was the one that was worse off. the other dragon fish looks ok, a little on the thin side but he dosent have bloody lips like the other one did. i was reading that one dragon fish can become aggressive towards the lesser dragon fish if there is only 2 in the tank.. is that true? its a learning process but i dont mind i love odd fish like dragon fish and i always thought they were really aggressive but the more i read about them the more i like♥ i will post a picture soon so we can get a better idea if he is sick. he is def not the Arrowana.he has a very long snake like body. i think i would be afraid of an arrowana lol i didnt know they were related to gobys either. gobys are such sweet natured fish.

iloveengl

Oh, I'm sorry the one passed away...poor thing .


Yeah, I only recommend one per tank because the biggest one will out-compete the others for food. They're not at all aggressive otherwise.

Yep, they most definitely have a sweet-natured temperament and goofy goby face .

This is my tank I set up just for Melvin: . For a size reference, the mollies that he's near in the video are about 2 inches. You can see him filtering the sand and just generally being his awesome self. I'd LOVE to see pics when you get them. Have you thought of a name yet ?

aquarist48

Thanks for sharing the links and video Ilovee Great book mark!
They are so beautiful and so odd at the same time.
Happy Halloween!
Ken

FireFly

hi iloveengl yes yes that is like the dragon goby or violet goby that i brought home last night your tank looks beautiful. hopefully i can bring this little guy back. thats really neat the way melvin swims and sifts through the gravel/sand. makes me even more excited to get him healthy again. i havent thought of a name yet.. any ideas? and its really hard to tell if they are male or female right?

iloveengl

Thanks for the compliments . From what I read, there's no obvious outward indication of male or female. I pretty much just decided mine was a male

FireFly

im so glad i was able to save him. the fish tank i put him in wasnt in use since i say the begining of august. it sat empty from when i gave the goldfish to my aunt. im going to be sure to take out the gravel in there and get the softer sand like grave and get him a cave i was reading that they should be put in established fish tanks.. im not sure if my tank would be considered established.. i didnt drain the water from the goldfish untill i got the dragon fish, then i drained it and set it up like a new aquarium... think he will be ok? i have a peguin filter with the bio wheel with a new filter cartridge and new wheel since it dried out from the goldfish not being in there. i will be sure to get the saltwater salt too. its funny i always loved gobies and now i have one and my boyfriend was like "we need a really cool fish" so the dragon fish fits perfectly. he looks like he can be aggressive but is a sweetheart

Hello I've edited your post. Please refer to Fish Forum Rules #2
Thanks!
Ken

FireFly

ok.. so my post was edited for language.. thats odd cause i put ** but what ev lol i thought of a name for my dragon fish.. its Valcor like from The Never Ending Story =)

iloveengl

Ha! Excellent name! Totally fits . (Yeah there's a strict no bad language rule on this forum - even when using symbols or acronyms - because there are so many young children on this site and we want it to stay totally family friendly.)

It sounds like your tank will go through another nitrogen cycle since it was empty for a while. If you keep up with daily water changes while it cycles, then he should be okay. They can be sensitive to ammonia, so a bottle of Prime would help too.

FireFly

thanks for all your help iloveengl. i will be sure to keep you posted and probably pick your brain some more

FireFly

oh boooooo!!!!!! Valcor .. he died .. was it something i did? ... sooo dissapointing.. i did eveything that was mentioned.. but then agian im new to goby care.. maybe i missed something. or maybe he was too sick and the stress of a new tank was to much to handle. well i would def. like to get another goby since well.. i have the set up now. thanks everyone for their help.

I've edited your post. Fish Forum Rules #2:
Do not use curse words in your posts. Most will be blocked with **** and we still consider it using profanity. Don't put in special characters to circumvent the system to spell out inappropriate words either. This forum can be read by the general public and as such, children have access to this forum. Posts of this nature will get your account and IP address banned and may result in further action. Let's keep it clean. (abbreviations are not acceptable either)
Thanks!
Ken

iloveengl

Oh I'm so sorry It sounds like they came from very bad conditions and they were probably too starved and sick to make it, even with appropriate care. RIP dragon gobies.


Here's some info to check out if you want to try fishies again: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm. Particularly usefull is the section called "Starting The Nitrogen Cycle Fishless."

FireFly

cool thanks i def want to try them again but do it right this time.. i had no choice but to rush the set up because of where they were and how sick they were. i dont think they would have made it another day where they were, lets just say a bucket with an air stone is not the proper housing for them............ some people still amaze me.. would you be happy in a bucket?.. no.. Thanks again for all your help and i hope to have a beautiful fish tank like yours iloveengl