Monster Dragon Goby

[Red Devil]

My dragon goby is turning into a monster.. he killed my green phantom pleco .. i knew he was harrassing everyone in the tank and the pleco was the only one left in the tank besides the other dragon goby..i moved everyone and the pleco was next and i was turning the tank brackish..but before i could move the pleco the goby killed him...this monster goby eats everything that i throw into the tank for him.. i thought it was wonderful that he ate every type of pelleted food, algae wafers,blood worms,shrimp and anything else i put in small enough.. but i thought the pleco was safe :( I thought the goby was in danger from the pleco.. i was so upset to find my greenie dead this am.. Now i just moved the timid goby..i can now amagine the life he endured.. how did i get one so fierce with his raging appetite??? I still love him too but he certainly isn't the timid sweet guy i thought he was..anyone else have a goby like this???:(

[dragonfish]

Sorry to hear that Liz. Mine has never bothered anyone in the tank when he was in a community.

[wataugachicken]

wow. that's pretty crazy. i always thought they just minded their own business. what a shock.

[cansat]

mines is not aggressive but hes small, how big is yours? pics?

[Red Devil]

The other one i have has your dragon goby's personality but this one is a bad seed.. he is relentless..i will have to keep this monster by himself..isn't this so unusual??? Here we were worried about him eating.{i still worry a bit about the other guy} he is on the thin side but this one has doubled his size.. i just wish it wasn't my beautiful greenie.. i will get another one eventually but i will miss him..thanks dragonfish..

[Red Devil]

mines is not aggressive but hes small, how big is yours? pics?

I will get some pics up.. i think this is not your usual goby personality.. he is about 11 inches :(

[dragonfish]

That's about the size of mine and he has no interest in anything other then bloodworms and very small pieces of shrimp and fish.

[Red Devil]

wow. that's pretty crazy. i always thought they just minded their own business. what a shock.

The harrasment is constant.. he swims all over the other fish..poking at them.. but i never thought it would come to this.. the past couple of days i noticed the phantom was hanging out on top ..i just did not realize how bad it was for him.

[Yakuza-Irezumi]

And i thought they were only filter feeders! Congrats on getting it to eat all that.

[Red Devil]

That's about the size of mine and he has no interest in anything other then bloodworms and very small pieces of shrimp and fish.

I have a monster goby..fearless and wants to eat all the time.. i go down and open up the top of his tank he is the first one to the food..the other guy is usually hiding behind some rock.. i put food all the way on the other end of the tank this morning and as soon as the monster goby gobbled up the first food he was on the food all the way on the other side in seconds flat... he must have not let the phantom eat and if i put in zucchni he harassed him so much the pleco would leave.. and i found uneaten zucchini .. :irked:

[Red Devil]

And i thought they were only filter feeders! Congrats on getting it to eat all that.

Well as long as the pieces are small enough he cleans up the tank..mouth going all the time -chewing something..it just goes to show how different all fish are and how incredibly misinformed we are to think that each one is basically the same..

[Red Devil]

Here is a pic of the one i moved .. he looks skinny and short compared to monster goby so glad i moved him.. i will get some of the bully tommorrow.

[mudskipper]

that doesn't sound right. they are suppsed to be less harmful then a neon tetra. they are almost blind and eat micro food. are sure it was the goby, or could it be some odd death, or just a pleco kicking the bucket without any signs? how big is your goby? how big was it when you got it, if it eats that much, than it sould have grown a little bit? they are by nature schoolers, maybe u should get 2 or 3 more, and instead of it being mean to the others, and use its behavoir to declare itself leader opf the pack.
mine is 10" and is a loafer. his favorate foods are frozen shrimp (mysis, brine, ect.) i want to get a few more for him to school with, but the lfs want 15-20$. i thought i would watch at walmart, find a big one and quarentine it for a few weeks. i have owned 2 10 inchers at once, but they were slighty different species, and did not interact alot. i don't know if by "school" they mean the gobies will stroll arond the tank together, or if they will be lazy in clumps.

[santoury]

Are you SURE it was him? This is the exact opposite of a normal dragon goby. (They are always hungry, yes) but never ever aggressive. VERY interesting if he is the one doing the damage. (Did you witness this?) I notice you have your borleyi in there. What else is in there? Maybe the other fish did the pleco in?

[BrtnBoy449]

that sucks liz


i want to see some pictures of this monster!

[Red Devil]

that doesn't sound right. they are suppsed to be less harmful then a neon tetra. they are almost blind and eat micro food. are sure it was the goby, or could it be some odd death, or just a pleco kicking the bucket without any signs? how big is your goby? how big was it when you got it, if it eats that much, than it sould have grown a little bit? they are by nature schoolers, maybe u should get 2 or 3 more, and instead of it being mean to the others, and use its behavoir to declare itself leader opf the pack.
mine is 10" and is a loafer. his favorate foods are frozen shrimp (mysis, brine, ect.) i want to get a few more for him to school with, but the lfs want 15-20$. i thought i would watch at walmart, find a big one and quarentine it for a few weeks. i have owned 2 10 inchers at once, but they were slighty different species, and did not interact alot. i don't know if by "school" they mean the gobies will stroll arond the tank together, or if they will be lazy in clumps.
This guy is out and about any time of day that he hears you around..the minute food goes in he in on it..lol.. i had to take the other one out {he was just like him} but skinny because the other one never lets him eat..he is doing much better alone in another tank..when i mean aggressive i mean he bothers others relentlessly until they leave the food to him..he is about a foot.Mine eats all that too and then some..

[Red Devil]

Are you SURE it was him? This is the exact opposite of a normal dragon goby. (They are always hungry, yes) but never ever aggressive. VERY interesting if he is the one doing the damage. (Did you witness this?) I notice you have your borleyi in there. What else is in there? Maybe the other fish did the pleco in?
All i saw him do was slither around anyone and anything in his path for the food..no one could eat not even pleco because he is relentlessly bothering them if they have something they are eating..even if the pleco was eating zuch. he did not want the veggie but he won't let anyone else have it either.. this pic is of the thinner one that i moved to the Borleyi tank to save him.. i will get pics of the monster soon.. Definitly a agressive fearless type .. this one!No one was in with pleco except the other goby.. now goby is alone.

[Red Devil]

that sucks liz


i want to see some pictures of this monster!

yes i don't care that he is a monster goby but losing my pleco was a big loss.

[ShadowBass]

I had a gold dojo loach kill a corycat once, something I didn't even know was possible. Everyone asks if maybe the corycat died first and the dojo loach tried to eat on the carcass but the corycat wasn't dead when I found it, he was still swimming around a bit with a big chunk of flesh ripped out of his side and nothing else in there but other corycats. After that the other corycats wouldn't ever come out until I moved the dojo loach. This same loach liked to murder ghost shrimp. Not eat them usually, just rip the shells off and then leave the bodies for something else to eat.

Some fish just act weird.

[Red Devil]

I had a gold dojo loach kill a corycat once, something I didn't even know was possible. Everyone asks if maybe the corycat died first and the dojo loach tried to eat on the carcass but the corycat wasn't dead when I found it, he was still swimming around a bit with a big chunk of flesh ripped out of his side and nothing else in there but other corycats. After that the other corycats wouldn't ever come out until I moved the dojo loach. This same loach liked to murder ghost shrimp. Not eat them usually, just rip the shells off and then leave the bodies for something else to eat.

Some fish just act weird.

Yes that is true..some just have their own personalities.. i have one easy going shy red devil ..very unusual.. so it does happen.. thanks for interesting story.

[Pufferpunk]

So he actually pestered the pleco to death?

[Red Devil]

So he actually pestered the pleco to death?
Thats what i believe happened.. pleco was timid after he pestered him.. i just did not get him out soon enough..did not think a pleco would put up with it..it was the dragon goby i thought i had to worry about..but not in this case.

[dragonfish]

I am still shocked by that. Mine will back away if he runs into anyone else while feeding. Must be rabies, or just a New York attitude.;)

[Red Devil]

I am still shocked by that. Mine will back away if he runs into anyone else while feeding. Must be rabies, or just a New York attitude.;)
:ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL:
i can count on you to make me laugh... that was good!! Don't worry everyone i don't hold anything against any fish.. i am just feeding him more now.. but he is a bad one! i should put it right..not bad but a monster goby..

[santoury]

WOW - Liz... bad boy on your hands... Got a pic of him? :)

[dragonfish]

Have you tried putting him with the columbian sharks? That's where mine is now and everyone seems happy.

[Red Devil]

WOW - Liz... bad boy on your hands... Got a pic of him? :)

I was going to get one but with the floor being wet i thought i would wait until tommorrow..almost dry.. he is on the bottom level so i have to get all the way down for the pic..so it is coming ..

[Red Devil]

Have you tried putting him with the columbian sharks? That's where mine is now and everyone seems happy.

you know that seems like a great idea eventually.. want him to be bigger first since the columbians are a foot .. he still seems meek compared to them... but if yours is working out that would be great for me to do since it is brackish almost. And the columbians don't hurt other fish, but he may not be able to race them to food..my columbians are the fastest fish i have ever seen..they cover ground swallowing anything in their path..do yours do that? I may have to use the long forceps then haha..and hand it to him.I already do that for a few..my one front does not want to give up her cave..we hand feed her and one african blotch NEVER comes out..waits for it to drop in.. fish you gotta love them!

[dragonfish]

My dragon has his castle and the cat roams his own end. When I feed I drop pieces of krill, fish, market shrimp on the cats side and frozen bloodworms and small pieces of the above to the dragon on the opposite end. Everyone's happy.

[Red Devil]

My dragon has his castle and the cat roams his own end. When I feed I drop pieces of krill, fish, market shrimp on the cats side and frozen bloodworms and small pieces of the above to the dragon on the opposite end. Everyone's happy.

Oh that sounds perfect..you have them trained..these cats are everywhere from one end to the other in a flash.. engulfing anything and everything .. they never stay in one place..one may be going and one coming and the next second their together ..hard to watch them and very hard to take pics.. i mean they zoom..maybe i have a different type ..:D Infact they would take the dragon goby and his castle and fling it if they thought there was food inside.. they eat the most of all my fish..they ravish food..

[dragonfish]

Mine mainly stay on their own sides. Once again it's that New York state of mind.

[Red Devil]

Mine mainly stay on their own sides. Once again it's that New York state of mind.

Haha yes we run down to Florida anytime we want.. that is awesome though that it worked out that well..we think the grass is greener.. oh it is in winter..lol

[raz3124]

hey im trying to feed my dragon goby but hes not eating?

[davo]

:( sucks Liz

[pirarucu319]

that little rascal..
really trance to a monster
post pic..
everybody wanna see that rascal..
hehhe..
natural born killer huh?!!..

ANCIENT MONSTER RULEZ :arapaimag:asianarow

[Red Devil]

:( sucks Liz

yes it does ..l loved that green phantom.. but i quess i should have noticed faster.. i was taking him out in a couple of days but it was not soon enough:(

[Red Devil]

that little rascal..
really trance to a monster
post pic..
everybody wanna see that rascal..
hehhe..
natural born killer huh?!!..

ANCIENT MONSTER RULEZ :arapaimag:asianarow

I will try to get a pic ..but he is really not much different looking then any other goby..it is just his attitude that is different.

[Red Devil]

hey im trying to feed my dragon goby but hes not eating?

Blood worms and brine shrimp usually get them going..drop it in front of his face and good luck.

[Red Devil]

Here is a pic of him..

[Niikvdub]

Ok so question for all you dragon goby people.

I recently bought two goby's and i have not seen them eat at all yet. They did hide the first few days but now not so much. What i am confused about is they both are floating to the top of the tank and poking thier heads out of the water? Do they want to be fed or what? I bought 15 minnows yesterday cause i didnt think they were eating the bloodworms i gave them, but they dont eat these minnows either, so now i have 15 monnows...lol but yeah do u know what this is a symbol of? i gave them a whole cube of bloodwormd thinking it was food, i didnt see them eat it, but all the monnows and the three ghost shrimp did...i need help i suppose.

[Red Devil]

Ok so question for all you dragon goby people.

I recently bought two goby's and i have not seen them eat at all yet. They did hide the first few days but now not so much. What i am confused about is they both are floating to the top of the tank and poking thier heads out of the water? Do they want to be fed or what? I bought 15 minnows yesterday cause i didnt think they were eating the bloodworms i gave them, but they dont eat these minnows either, so now i have 15 monnows...lol but yeah do u know what this is a symbol of? i gave them a whole cube of bloodwormd thinking it was food, i didnt see them eat it, but all the monnows and the three ghost shrimp did...i need help i suppose.

try frozen bloodworms and drop it with an {eye dropper}thats what i use anyway in front of their face.. also frozen brine shrimp ... frozen miacin shrimp they love also... they will come gobbling it up as long as you do not wait until they end up on a hunger strike.. once you get them feeding good you will be alright.. time is of essense though so get them trying those foods..i do not know why they are at the top floating but it does not sound right.. they are usually swimming every where down and up.. hope they eat!!!

[dragonfish]

Mine will swim to the top when he thinks it has been too long between feedings. How big are they? Use frozen brine and bloodworms. Thaw them in water then put them in right in their faces. If you wait too long and they get very skinny they won't recover. Most are not aggressive eaters and have a hard time competing with fast fish. Make sure enough gets to the bottom and good luck with them.

[Niikvdub]

I have tried that, and sent cubes of blood worms in the tank...they just laid there and went bad so i had to pull them out...i dropped a cube yesterday...but ill give it another try...i hope it works...because they look dead at the top of the tank...and they are prbaby about 6"...and it doesnt seem like the water.

[Red Devil]

I have tried that, and sent cubes of blood worms in the tank...they just laid there and went bad so i had to pull them out...i dropped a cube yesterday...but ill give it another try...i hope it works...because they look dead at the top of the tank...and they are prbaby about 6"...and it doesnt seem like the water.

Have you tried frozen foods..shrimp,bloodworms etc.. sounds like they are stressing..have they been up at the top the whole time?

[Niikvdub]

No when i bought them they did the whole im going to hide so you cant see me ordeal. But one is like on its side and i think there is blood coming from its rectum...i dont know...maybe pregnant? i have no idea. i shoved a whole block of bloodworms in his face but they arnt going for it...

Do fish have periods?lol i dont know whats going on.

[Red Devil]

No when i bought them they did the whole im going to hide so you cant see me ordeal. But one is like on its side and i think there is blood coming from its rectum...i dont know...maybe pregnant? i have no idea. i shoved a whole block of bloodworms in his face but they arnt going for it...

Do fish have periods?lol i dont know whats going on.

no fish do not have periods and i do not think that anything you have said sounds positive in any way.. i am sorry but i think they are too far gone.. do you have a camera so i can see them so i can judge the situation better.. are they not swimming to the bottom at all? How many days since they have eaten? How long have you had them? What else is in the tank with them? Have you done water changes and tested your water? Theres alot of things that could be going on..

[Bogwoodbruce]

That sucks LIZ, i've got a Green Phantom pleco and they are awesome. Sorry for your loss.

[Red Devil]

That sucks LIZ, i've got a Green Phantom pleco and they are awesome. Sorry for your loss.

Thank you Bruce.. i will definitly get another one..

[big train]

That is some strange behavior for a goby to be so aggrasive i could have made the same mistake thinking there was no way that goby would kill the pleco.I had a goby a long time ago in a cichlid community tank and the fish would just sit around mostly and not do much and all the one's i have seen at the lfs are very inactive as well.

[Red Devil]

That is some strange behavior for a goby to be so aggrasive i could have made the same mistake thinking there was no way that goby would kill the pleco.I had a goby a long time ago in a cichlid community tank and the fish would just sit around mostly and not do much and all the one's i have seen at the lfs are very inactive as well.

Well this one was more active then any i have seen too.. but i still did not think much of it.. even when i saw him running all over the pleco i did not think it would bother the pleco much.. but maybe some other pleco would not mind but this green phantom must have been really timid because the goby ended up ruling the tank.. so you just never know their personalities.. next time i will look for a bigger more out going afraid of nothing green pleco.. :( truthfully next time he won't be in with the gobys he will stay in with the guppies until he is pretty big.

[filiportela]

really?!?! mine is so peacefull ;)

[Red Devil]

really?!?! mine is so peacefull ;)

Why ME???:headbang2

[dragonfish]

I told you Liz, it's that NY attitude. Order your goby from the out of state.

[Red Devil]

I told you Liz, it's that NY attitude. Order your goby from the out of state.

Haha i know he did not come from NY.. :D

[Nabbig2]

My dragon goby is turning into a monster.. he killed my green phantom pleco .. i knew he was harrassing everyone in the tank and the pleco was the only one left in the tank besides the other dragon goby..i moved everyone and the pleco was next and i was turning the tank brackish..but before i could move the pleco the goby killed him...this monster goby eats everything that i throw into the tank for him.. i thought it was wonderful that he ate every type of pelleted food, algae wafers,blood worms,shrimp and anything else i put in small enough.. but i thought the pleco was safe :( I thought the goby was in danger from the pleco.. i was so upset to find my greenie dead this am.. Now i just moved the timid goby..i can now amagine the life he endured.. how did i get one so fierce with his raging appetite??? I still love him too but he certainly isn't the timid sweet guy i thought he was..anyone else have a goby like this???:(

Wow, that is crazy. Speaking of dragon gobies, I saw a little one for 5 bucks, and it would keep half of it's head above the water, like a sea monster. Luckily, I managed to resist my impulse to buy it...

[Red Devil]

Wow, that is crazy. Speaking of dragon gobies, I saw a little one for 5 bucks, and it would keep half of it's head above the water, like a sea monster. Luckily, I managed to resist my impulse to buy it...

oh you would have loved him.. they are so unique and even though this one is a little stinker they are sweet.

[straitjacketstar]

Most people can't keep a dragon goby long enough to realize that they can get very territorial and they can also get quite large.
There was a vid floating around on the wed a few years back of a 17"er harassing his similarly sized DG tankmate cause he wouldn't get away from his pile of rocks.

[Red Devil]

Most people can't keep a dragon goby long enough to realize that they can get very territorial and they can also get quite large.
There was a vid floating around on the wed a few years back of a 17"er harassing his similarly sized DG tankmate cause he wouldn't get away from his pile of rocks.

HAHA describes mine perfectly... must be his brother...thanks!

[estuary]

HAHA describes mine perfectly... must be his brother...thanks!
mine is about 15" and in with bichirs no bichir goes in its cave or hell to pay
except a rope fish they hang out in the cave

[Red Devil]

mine is about 15" and in with bichirs no bichir goes in its cave or hell to pay
except a rope fish they hang out in the cave

wow nice that you have been able to put them all together..i was thinking maybe i would try mine with the bichirs..and my rope.. thats is great.. he is awesome ..

[yama]

hey whats up? cool tat book what fish are u into? oh let me guess asian aros.

[Red Devil]

hey whats up? cool tat book what fish are u into? oh let me guess asian aros.

If you mean me???? I am into them all:nilly:

[estuary]

wow nice that you have been able to put them all together..i was thinking maybe i would try mine with the bichirs..and my rope.. thats is great.. he is awesome ..
thanks, for me it works out great 6 bichirs and a rope it defanitly holds it on
it loves cocktail shrimp

[Red Devil]

thanks, for me it works out great 6 bichirs and a rope it defanitly holds it on
it loves cocktail shrimp
Haha what made you think of trying that? I would have been eating it too.. :D
I will try it with the bichirs.. and rope ..because we will be moving them to a bigger tank.. i thought the gobys had to be in brackish eventually but from what i have heard they do well in almost all settings as long as they eat well..and this one eats great!Do you add aquarium salt?

[estuary]

Haha what made you think of trying that? I would have been eating it too.. :D
I will try it with the bichirs.. and rope ..because we will be moving them to a bigger tank.. i thought the gobys had to be in brackish eventually but from what i have heard they do well in almost all settings as long as they eat well..and this one eats great!Do you add aquarium salt?
i feed it to my bichirs, normally a filter feeder doest bother with other foods but cocktail shrimp it comes out as soon as it hits the water, make sure it has a cave that it can bearly get into it will move the sustrate to make it more to its likeing, mine was bought in freshwater 3 years no problem growing healthy im not worried, only add salt to tank for medical reasons ich etc.

[Red Devil]

i feed it to my bichirs, normally a filter feeder doest bother with other foods but cocktail shrimp it comes out as soon as it hits the water, make sure it has a cave that it can bearly get into it will move the sustrate to make it more to its likeing, mine was bought in freshwater 3 years no problem growing healthy im not worried, only add salt to tank for medical reasons ich etc.

Thank you very much.. so glad to hear this..makes everything better all around... if i can set them all up in bigger tank it will be great..