Dragon Goby and FW

[Aerious]

Hey, I acquired a violet dragon goby from a lfs which told me it was freshwater(mind you the staff looked incompetent). It's been kept in a 40 gallon(in a few months moving to a larger) so far with a few other fish and it's been doing great, growing steadily, and getting prettier.

I've had it about 4 months now, and I have had no problem whats so ever, he eats everything, flakes, pellets, wafers the lot, tends to be a little inconsiderate of his neighbors but otherwise showing healthy and well tempered development.

Now recently I learned he is actually a brackish fish. I do keep it mildly salted, as with all my tanks (except the brackish ofcourse) and as I mentioned I have had no problem what so ever with him but I am worried about harming him and more worried about the positiblity of having to give him away.

So my question is, has anyone had kept a goby in freshwater and had success/failures with them, and if so what extent?

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

my understanding is that for the most part they are brackish, but I believe I've seen pics on here of an adult violet goby living in FW

 

[sikoko]

i kept mine in freshwater for like six years

 

[KYeasting]

I kept a goby for over 3 years in freshwater before I learned about their brackish preference. It grew to be about 11" long and was bigger around than a quarter. The only problem I ever encountered was its aggression. Once mature, they can get quite nasty with some of their tankmates, ESPECIALLY other gobies. If I buy another goby in the future, I will certainly have it in a brackish tank. However, IMO, it is possible to keep a violet goby alive and relatively well in a freshwater aquarium.

 

[dragonsong]

I had a dragon goby live 4 years in freshwater before switching to brackish. He was very stubborn and only ate live or frozen foods - never flakes or pellets, but still grew to the nice size of 11.5". The fresh water never seemed to cause a problem.

 

[Aerious]

Alright thanks fellas, I got worried because he's big and beautiful and I'd hate the thought I'd kill him. or that I gotta get another huge aquarium to set up a larger brackish tank (I wouldnt have the heart to give him away). He's growing well too, got him at the length of about 3 inches now he's 6 (in about 3 months).

 

[Aerious]

Alright thanks fellas, I got worried because he's big and beautiful and I'd hate the thought I'd kill him. or that I gotta get another huge aquarium to set up a larger brackish tank (I wouldnt have the heart to give him away). He's growing well too, got him at the length of about 3 inches now he's 6 (in about 3 months).

Correction he is about 8"

 

[Mudfrog]

They are brackish fish. If you have really hard water you can get by with them in FW but it's a guessing game for how long. People have kept them in FW, it can be done but the success rate is very small.