Violet Goby - 'Dragon Goby' ....digging a BIG hole!

[Patwa]

Hey,

I just have a quick quetion for any of y'all that know a bit about this fish.

well I just bought a nice 7" from my LFS...and he's doing great....just as I expected....except for this morning, when i woke up, I found he had dug a pretty large hole underneath one of the big rocks.

I say 'large' cuz the hole is literally 7 or 8" in diameter and is about 1" to 1.5" deep......i was amazed at this, since nothing I read hinted that these fish were very good at digging holes..only that they seek out dark hiding spaces and rest there for the most of the day...

the hole basically is underneath a load-bearing rock..so i'm a bit concerned....heheh..jeeze if the rock slips into the hole i won't be surprised...i'll have one very, very flat goby to take out! ...but in any case I think it is fairly secure for the time being.

so...is this normal behaviour?? is he digging for proctection?? or is this digging activity just normal stuff?? i guess he prolly just wants a place to call his own, eh?

thanks,

Zach.

 

[e-cat]

mine would dig a bit , but nothing like that and yours could be hungery and searching out some food. you do know there filter feeders right?

 

[Patwa]

mine would dig a bit , but nothing like that and yours could be hungery and searching out some food. you do know there filter feeders right?

yeah i know they're filter feeders....I read BEFORE I bought the fish....but like I said, I read nothing about digging massive holes.

and i doubt he's hungry, as i've been dropping in a variety of foods in his hole...from krill to bloodworms to an algae wafer.....so i doubt he not able to find anythign to eat.

in any case....he seems quite happy there..so i guess it's all good (until the rock slips into the hole, i guess).

Zach.

 

[lmw80]

IME, FW Gobys in general require lots of hiding spaces, specifically that are dark. This could be why he dug a hole underneath some rock. When I had my goby, I bought some slate-like rocks from my lfs and created a cave for him. I also had a seashell leaning down on a slant, like an awning where he could hide as well. Just keep in mind that if you make/buy a cave for him where you can't see him in it, you probably will never see him, lol. I tried to make it so there was a big enough space where I could still enjoy watching him.

 

[Toirtis]

IME, FW Gobys in general require lots of hiding spaces, specifically that are dark.

Although violet gobies do need lowered light, they are not FW gobies....they are cool (around 72ºF), brackish-water gobies, and really need to be kept as such to thrive for long (they should live 10+ years and get 30"-36" long).

 

[lmw80]

I am sorry, I should have clarified. When I refer to FW gobies, I really mean any goby not in a "sw" tank. I should not assume that everyone else knows that too, lol. I had a fandance goby - he was most definitly in my brackish tank!

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[madasafish]

BTW, welcome back Patwa! Where've ya been for the last month

 

[madasafish]

*Toirtis*

Hmm... From what I've heard Violet Gobies (Goboides broussonnetii) only grow to 20 inches or so. Fishbase.org confirms this. Are we wrong? Or is this just the max size obsered in fish tanks?

 

[Patwa]

BTW, welcome back Patwa! Where've ya been for the last month

ohh hahaha....oh nothing....that's how I usually am when it comes to messageboards....i'm in for a few weeks, then other things come up and I totally forget to post another few weeks...and then i'm back for a bit....oh well.....you gotta get used to it!

thanks for remembering me though!!! hahaha

As for Violet Goby length...hmm..i've read it can reach 30+ inches.....but that's basically in the wild....in captivity it's more likely to max out at about 20" or so.......but as with anything in a tank...the growth does get affected by the tank size...



Zach.

 

[e-cat]

try some sinking shrimp pellets once they softened up mine loved it.
they easily get over 20" in aquariums, mine reached 24" when i got rid of him.

 

[mgkaelen]

i know marine gobys are huge burrowers . fw i assume would be the same way!

 

[Toirtis]

*Toirtis*

Hmm... From what I've heard Violet Gobies (Goboides broussonnetii) only grow to 20 inches or so. Fishbase.org confirms this. Are we wrong? Or is this just the max size obsered in fish tanks?

Fishbase.org, although good, is far from always correct, unfortunately. I have seen them grown to 30" in aquaria on a couple of occasions, and have heard anecdotal evidence from reliable aquarists of as much as 33".