Dragon Goby Needs Brackish (Help!)

[Clewliss]

Hello, this is my first thread on the site and I am in need of some help. In my freshwater aquarium, I have a dwarf gourami, an African butterflyfish, and a dragon goby. I have had my dragon goby for about a month and he is starting to look very skinny. From what I have read, he needs a brackish water setup to survive. My family is very attached to all of our fish and we do not want to lose any. I would really like to start adding aquarium salt and convert my aquarium to a brackish setup, but I’m worried about how the other fish will react. So, I would like all possible input about what I should do. I really want to know if my fish will survive, or what fish I will need to remove.

 

[King Fisher]

I thought dragon gobies could live in freshwater?........if you wanted to keep some salt in the tank to see if your goby snaps out of it I'd start with 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. This will not affect your other fish. You could run this for a couple weeks and see if it helps......if it doesn't help try 2 teaspoons of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water for a couple more weeks.

More info about your tank and feedings would be helpful........what are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates readings)?.....what temp do you keep your tank, what do you feed your goby, how often do you do water changes and how much do you change at a time(what % of the tank water)?

 

[Clewliss]

I thought dragon gobies could live in freshwater?........if you wanted to keep some salt in the tank to see if your goby snaps out of it I'd start with 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. This will not affect your other fish. You could run this for a couple weeks and see if it helps......if it doesn't help try 2 teaspoons of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water for a couple more weeks.

More info about your tank and feedings would be helpful........what are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates readings)?.....what temp do you keep your tank, what do you feed your goby, how often do you do water changes and how much do you change at a time(what % of the tank water)?

Thanks I will definitely try that! I usually feed with frozen bloodworms and sometimes live ones, I do about a 25% water change every 1-2 weeks. The tank temp. is usually at about 79 degrees F, but it’s summer and a little harder to keep cool, so the temp. is around 80-82. I just ran a fresh test and everything is okay, except my nitrate levels, i can tell they’re definitely higher than they should be. What does this mean, and what can I do to help?

 

[King Fisher]

Up your water changes to once a week and I'd do 1/3 of the tank or 33-35%..... around there. 80-82 is pushing to much heat IMO. Get it to 76-77 degrees. Where are you keeping your tank where it's getting 80-82? The higher the temp the less oxygen in the water. What size is your tank and what is your nitrate levels?

Nitrates should be at 40 ppm tops and usually only at the end of the week before your water change. Nitrates can jump up from overfeeding your fish, overstocking your tank...fish waste... or not doing water changes frequently or not changing out enough water during your change. Example.......if you have 40ppm nitrates and you do a 25% water change you will still have 30ppm nitrates in your tank. With that said.....you need to do a couple of large water changes now. Do a 50% water change then the next day do another 50% water change......my general advice. I would like to know the ppm of nitrates your tank has to determine how many of these large water changes you need.

 

[V227]

I believe Kingfisher is spot on with the noted water management advice. Where I differ is the salt issue. I've never kept Dragon Gobies, but I have kept numerous species that originated from the Gobies Central American ecosystems.
The FW Gobies swim in hard water w/ 8 PH. Salt probably is not the answer. IMO, Crushed coral added to your filter box, or a limestone hardscape is the best answer.
I suggest gradually switching out blood worms for small grain cichlid sinking pellets and flakes.

 

[Clewliss]

Thank you all!