Violet Gobies

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

I have had a violet goby for about two years now, and he's about 10"long. He lives in a 55 gallon tank with five bumblebee gobies and countless guppies. The SG of the tank is about 1.03. Hopefully sometime soon I'll be getting a 125 gallon tank for him and the bumblebees.
I've been looking all over the place, and it seems that some of the members on this forum have huge violet gobies. If you do, I'd love to see pics.
Clare, or, "The Real Clare," had violet gobies that were 20" or so. Is she still an active mmber on this forum at all? She said she had fed the gobies a diet of I don't know how many things. I wonder if that's what made them grow so fast.

 

[chesterfieldzoo]

I have 2 dragons that are just over a foot long and one that is 6 inches. They are all the same age - bought same size at same time. I had them in a 55 gallon for 3 years. Kept it at 1.004 or 1.005. I just feed mine flake food and toss in freeze dried bloodworms or blackworms. Live stuff just burrows into the gravel never to be seen again. They sift through the gravel for food. I just moved them to a 110 gallon and would like some new ideas for food also. They have to be tired of the same old thing. I also upped the saline to 1.006

 

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

Well if you want food ideas, I suggest algae wafers. A study showed that the diet of violet gobies from a certain place were about 25% filamentous algae. Therefore, they may eat algae that grows naturally in your tank. I have noticed that in the lower corners of the tank, mine has eaten away the algae. At first I thought he was just being stupid, but I read that and I realized he was eating it. Despite the fact that they do eat algae, they can't reach algae that grows higher up than their mouths when they're flat on the substrate, and only in the corners, where it can eat without sliding off to one side. Another large part of their diet is detritus, which is decomposing organic material. I would guess that the materials of long dead fish that have decomposed beyond recognition would qualify. So, if a fish dies, maybe you shouldn't take it out...but that's not for sure. I would guess that if you're giving them live food and the food just goes into the substrate uneaten, it's either dead or still alive somehow. If it's dead, your gobies might be sifting its decomposing remains out of the substrate.
Suitable commercially available foods include: frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, algae wafers, and some stuff I can't remember. I wouldn't really suggest flake food though. It doesn't seem to be anything worth eating for a violet goby.

 

[craig]

My violet goby eats everything and is in full marine water.

 

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

How long have you had your goby in full marine? What size tank is it?
Personally, I wouldn't suggest a marine tank for a violet goby. They are sometimes found in saltwater, but then again, they're also found in freshwater. These are just places they travel throughout their lifecycle. If I knew more about their lifecycles, I'd alternate between fresh, brack, and salt accordingly. Sadly though, I don't. Since they're mainly brackish estuary fish, that's what their bodies are made for. Prolonged exposure to fresh (I'm guessing salt too) water makes it difficult for them to maintain osmoregularity. The extra energy their cells are spending to remove excess water (or salt) detracts from that which should be going to their immune systems (It's like fishy AIDS). This can result in diseases, such as the unfortunate red tumors that often kill these fish because they're in the wrong conditions.
A lot of people think that just because they've had their goby in fresh (or maybe salt) water for a few years with no problems means that's OK for them. Remember though, they can live for about fifteen years, and every so often in nature they're moving from one salinity to another, so they have the ability to tolerate fresh and salt for a while, but I've never heard of a violet goby in freshwater living longer than five years, and I'm not even sure that thing was a violet goby (long story). I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that salt water kills them just as swiftly as fresh.
Oh, and BTW, what do you mean by, "everything"? What do you feed him? He looks like he's around a foot long or so.

 

[dragonfish]

Mine is about a foot, low brackish, and eats small chunks of fish and shrimp. Just cut it up small and let him have. Mine pratically swims up to my hand at feeding time.

 

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

Your goby looks pretty good. Can you recall how long yours was when the dotted color pattern started turning into the more simple dark coloring?
The other night I was looking for info on violet gobies and I found a post by Clare that told what she had been feeding her's and that she got them at 5" and that over the course of a year they grew to between 12" and 20". I'm having the hardest time finding that back so if someone could help me find it I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[craig]

Froze brine shrimp,blood worms,marine cuisine,HBH soft bites,tetra bits,tetra crisps,frozen krill. He has been in marine water for 8 months. When I got him one year ago he was 4 inches. I slowly brougut the salinity to 1.018 and he more than doubled in size.

 

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

I kind of doubt that your goby's growth can be attributed to marine water. I find it more likely that its diet has caused its growth. My goby's diet for a long time was just algae wafers. Then it was just bloodworms. Now I'd like to start feeding it brine shrimp and other things, but I have to get to the LFS first.
I found Clare's post about what she fed her gobies. She fed them
bloodworms,tubifex,brine shrimp,daphnia with a mix of very finely chopped mussel prawn and cockle. Apparently she had studied feeding methods so I think that's why her gobies grew so quickly. Does anyone know how to get cockle, daphnia, mussels, and prawn?

 

[Daeorn]

Most should be available at your local fish store or dedicated fish petstore. If not, you can buy it online in frozen form I believe.