Wondering about dragon goby..

[Saterus]

I set up my brackish tank with the near sole intention of raising a dragon goby. I finally have him and he seems to be doing quite well but I have yet to find any real mention of their growth rate. I've heard plenty about too-small/too-crowded tanks stunting growth but I'd like to know how fast I should expect a healthy goby to grow as in; per month, per year or approximate over 6mos, etc.
He's about 5 inches long right now in a 45g, but I've only had him about 2 months and though he's put on a little weight, I can't tell if he's gained much in length. Maybe a half-inch?
I plan to upgrade his tank and I won't add anything else to the one he's in but I'd like to get an idea how long a timeline I'm looking at, is a 75g+ an immediate concern within the next year or so or are these a slow growing fish?
Eventually he'll have a nice big 125 (or MUCH better) but that's around 2 years away right now and I don't want him to be cramped..

 

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

There seems to be a lot of variation. In general I think you should expect a healthy one to grow at least 12" long in a year. The fastest (and largest) I've heard of one growing was to over 24" in a single year. Shrimp pellets seem to make very good food for growth, but don't forget to include some algae in its diet. As adults, they may start eating smaller fish.
I wish I could tell you more but I never hear about violet gobies that are more than a year old. Mine is three years old but still at 10" because of some seriously stunted growth. Someone else's input might be helpful.

 

[Saterus]

He's eating plenty of algae, I've let some grow all along the bottom few inches of glass and on the bog wood. He can clean it up better that I can when he wants to! lol

He also ate or killed and ate my little cherry shrimp. I've never heard of them doing such a thing, anyone else?
They were an inch or so long and pretty big for his tiny mouth but he went and hid in his cave munching away. Perhaps shrimp pellets are a good idea..