I have two dragons that used to be symbiotic in nature with each other. They are roughly nine inches a piece and in a 55 gallon freshwater tank. I left for vacation with a feeder in the tank and when I returned my two orandas had scales missing off of them. When I fed them to check out their well being I noticed the slightly bigger goby wouldn't let the smaller one eat. The small one would go to the top and the bigger one would literally clinch on to it's side with it's teeth/mouth and pull it to the bottom. It even bit me when I was moving things around in my set up. It's behaving more like a eel now for some reason. Water changes are normal and their diet is varied. Any ideas as to why this is going down?
Aggressive Dragon Goby
- Thread starter OrandaPiranah666
- Start date
Violet Gobies can be aggressive towards each other, thats why it's recommended to have one or in groups. As for the other fish I highly doubt it was the violet goby that attacked it. I could be wrong but thats just not the behavior of these guys.
It sounds to me like this individual has hit maturity. Since reaching around the same size, mine is always out displaying his fins at me. As they grow they are said to become more territorial, especially the males.
I've never heard of such aggressive behavior though. To avoid risking further damage to his tankmates, I would suggest that you remove him to another tank. Or, you could try upgrading to a much larger tank for the two gobies, because a 55 gallon isn't really enough room for two violet gobies of that size. If you do keep them together, make sure there are plenty of caves and things for them to claim as their territory.
I've never heard of such aggressive behavior though. To avoid risking further damage to his tankmates, I would suggest that you remove him to another tank. Or, you could try upgrading to a much larger tank for the two gobies, because a 55 gallon isn't really enough room for two violet gobies of that size. If you do keep them together, make sure there are plenty of caves and things for them to claim as their territory.
Wow, as much of a pushover as mine is its hard to imagine that kind of aggression 
The Oscar Spot- "They can live in groups provided that the aquarium has adequate running room with plenty of safe spots such as caves. If you are going to have multiple violet gobies try to get ones that are all the same size. Large ones will dominate over smaller ones in territorial disputes."
http://www.theoscarspot.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=13635
Do they each have their own cave/hide out? Thats the only thing I can think of that might help, but if they've reached different sizes you may just have to seperate them. Good luck getting it sorted out
The Oscar Spot- "They can live in groups provided that the aquarium has adequate running room with plenty of safe spots such as caves. If you are going to have multiple violet gobies try to get ones that are all the same size. Large ones will dominate over smaller ones in territorial disputes."
http://www.theoscarspot.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=13635
Do they each have their own cave/hide out? Thats the only thing I can think of that might help, but if they've reached different sizes you may just have to seperate them. Good luck getting it sorted out
mine turned into food for my GSPs overnight, the day they were fine, then i went to sleep and now the goby has no fins at all. dont know which ones to get rid of...
... but someone has to go
... but someone has to go
That's sad. I can't tell you which you should get rid of, but you can bet that the goby wouldn't have a good chance at life back at a pet store. If you have a friend or you know someone that could take care of it then I would see about doing that.
iput the goby in with the predators, the oscar, jag, and devil. they are in a 125 and they havent bothered him at all, they honestly dont care whats on the bottom, just swimming freely around the tank. he seems to be doing fine, other than the fins he has eaten off, hopefully he'll heal alright.
That doesn't sound safe. I don't know what jags and devils are, but I wouldn't keep a violet goby of any size with an oscar. Remember, looks can be deceiving.
Thanks for the input. I really enjoy this forum. There's some great stuff here. The smaller goby died earlier from stress presumably. The bigger goby circled the body and nipped at it for about ten minutes before I moved it. It even grabbed the other's tail in its mouth and shook him around. I just don't understand b/c they were always around each other all the time with no problems until I left for vacation. It's became very territorial and now nips at my Orandas but they seem to be too quick. He's fed properly, it's like he developed a taste for blood when it used to be very friendly to it's tank mates. But he's going in a 20 gallon tank by himself until I can afford something bigger.
