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I just got a south american dragonfish and i'm not very experience with this breed of fish, if anyone has any tips for me plz feel free to share them.

Your south american dragonfish is also know as an Arowana. This site and the internet has an abundance of info on them. Most inmportant thing to tell you is that they get huge!!!!! Hope you have a big tank.

well i don't know if its an arrowana, i got it from the petstore they had absolutely no info on it. It said "south american dragonfish" on the little tag. Its not like any arrowana ive ever seen and i cant seem to find a picture or info on it anywhere. It also seems to be only a bottom dweller for the most part.

well i don't know if its an arrowana, i got it from the petstore they had absolutely no info on it. It said "south american dragonfish" on the little tag. Its not like any arrowana ive ever seen and i cant seem to find a picture or info on it anywhere. It also seems to be only a bottom dweller for the most part.

Hehe, Violet Gobies aka Dragonfish also hail from South America. Confuses the living daylights out of people when someone simply say "dragonfish", though it's not your fault, it's the fish store that labeled it.:%)

This fish is said to do best in brackish conditions with sand substrate. As a bottom feeder, I have read that it sifts the sand through it's mouth and gills, however I've also been told that they will take foods without having to sift as well.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

yea haha, i just found out its real name was "violet goby" and then came to this page and found out you replyed. Well right now its in freshwater, it seems like throwing gravel around and eating wardley shrimp pellets. I also am hatching some brine shrimp to see if it would eat those. By the way you know how big it gets?

around 14" i wouldnt keep it in freshwater it will die after a while

well it was sold in freshwater so i figured it would be fine . Only problem i have now is half the fish in my tank are considered to be "brackish" but live in the fresh right now and the other half are just regular tropical fish.

What fish do you have in the tank?

Brackish fish that are kept in FW do not do well for the long term. You should decide whether you want FW or brackish and then either return the others or get another tank.

Unfortunately many fish are mislabeled, that's why research is always a good idea before you buy!

Last edited by puffer_archer at 27-Oct-2004 23:08

Violet gobies are a cooler, brackish water fish, and will grow to in excess of 30".

The main concern is that IME brackish fish kept in freshwater are much more susceptible to ich. Other diseases probably the same but ich seems to be most prominant.

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I disagree, I have kept a violet goby in freshwater for over five years. It is now about a foot long and very friendly with the corydora catfish in the tank. Freshwater is fine!

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The calming qualities of a good aquarium are irrefutable

yea mine seems to be doing fine in the fresh so far. one question for you though....what have you been feeding your violet goby?