just had a huge scare

[s15240drifter]

i just brought home a new fish today. my lfs had it labeled as a dragon fish, i did some research on it and it goes by a few names, violet goby was a name that came up the most. well about an hour after i brought him home i was watching it, and out of the blue it started flying around the tank and came to a stop, this spooked my jd/texas hybrids and the came over to see what was going on, the larger hybrid bite my dragon fish just a tiny bite, all hell broke lose, the dragon fish swam like 10 laps super fast then decided the tank wasnt for him and he jumped out. happened right in front of me, i was shocked and scared at the same time. i managed to net him, he is about 8 inches now and my only net is about 6 inches, it was tricky, he seems to of gone back to hiding for now, i keep checking on him cuz im a lil worried abouth his health now.

[pdbrady]

They are one of those fish you always feel like you have to worry about. In your research you may have found that they really do much better in brackish water. I don't know the status of any kept on mfk in fresh water, but the lifespans I've seen were not very long. The few that I have seen grow to any size to consider decent were in brackish. Also, I wouldn't plan on them holding their own with any aggressive fish (like you have). If anyone here has had any better luck in fw please chime in!

[s15240drifter]

the brackish water part i didnt know about to be honest. and my hybrids are still small, less than two inches, im trying to introduce new fish while there still small and have hopes of it lasting. when i had my red devil i did the same thing with a larger channel cat and a knife fish, they all got along intill i had to give them away cuz they all got to big for my tank. at that time i only had a 20 gallon.

[badfish]

Its mostly brackish but can live in fresh eats blood worms looks mean but is sensitive and gentle good luck Ive lost two of them do some research i gave up on them.

[s15240drifter]

thanks for the advise. i did buy blood worms for him, havnt feed him yet tho cuz im letting him get used to the tank and settle down a lil bit. i alwasy do research before buying a fish, but with this one i couldnt find much info at all, i searched for near 8 hours on night, so i decided to buy it from my lfs and at least try to give it a better life than it would of had cramped in that small ten gallon tank and being picked on buy the oscars they had in with it. even if it only lives a year or two im sure it would be much better than he had it at the lfs.

[paulverizors]

good luck

[green_fox]

your hybreds are cichlids right?
if so they can stand mild brckish usually (dont use table salt!!)

[dchaos52]

Ya, i had one of these as-well, i woke up one morning to find it in the mouth of my oscar....

[SublimeRhythm]

Ive had one of those fish before. They DO like brackish water, but can tolerate freshwater for some time. Also, they do love to jump out, but are quite hardy. Mine frequently was found on the floor, and my tank is pretty sealed off. One time he was being played with by the cat on the floor!! but he was fine... Only till he made his way to a place i couldnt see under the stand that he died...i think i found a few other eels there aswell when i moved...

[s15240drifter]

thanks for the heads up and advice, im gonna look more into brackish water, man ive only been on mfk for about five days and you guys helped me out a lot with both getting into cichlids and this new fish. thanks a lot. i do have one more question about this fish i cant figure out or find info one, the STRANGE looking fin on its underside, its almost a circle and is oddly attached to its body, does any one know what the purpose of this fin is for.

[IKeepPacu]

i had a dragon goby for some time.

at first in fresh water, he had real dull colors and was developing red sores on his body. these guys wont thrive for long in freshwater, as alot of the reading i did on them told me.

problem was, in brackish, he wasent eating. finally i came across a site that said their sometimes found in full salt down to depths of 100ft. needless to say, he survived a few years in straight salt water.

mine ate sinking carnivore pellets, and the occasional blackworm. there eues are EXTREMELY small, so finding food is sometimes difficult, and for this reason dont feed them feeder fish.

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Dragon%20Goby.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/violetgobyfaqs.htm

[dragonfish]

Mine is about a foot long. In brackish with a columbian shark. Ate brine and bloodworms when smaller but now eats small strips of fish and shrimp. Will not hold up well with aggressive tankmates. Will just go into hiding and starve. Likes a place to hide in. Mine uses that little fin to scoot along the bottom or to hold himself against an object. Cool fish. Good luck.

[pdbrady]

I had always wondered how well they kept in fresh, so I gave one a try. He was doing great- about 6-7", ate well, hung out in his own little hiding places, then one night he just started acting strange, flopping around, swimming like a spaz. I assumed he wouldn't make it through the night, and I guess he didn't because the next morning he wasn't there and my ornate had a fat belly. There was a bit in TFH about them, but I can't remember when it was. If I remember right, they should be kept in saltier water as they get older. Like maybe they're born in fresh, and make their way into heavier brackish. Maybe thet's why they're so hard to keep. They also like good ground cover to hide in. As for the fin, it is just a means for transport across ground. Hope some of this helps!

[Jkoziatek]

your jd/tex might be too aggressive when it grows