The Puffer Forum

Whats a reasonable minimum tank size for 2 F8s and a dragon goby?

Thanks!

id say 30 gallons give or take a few.

Really? Cause I figured that 2 3 inch F8s would be about the same size as one 6 inch GSP, and I keep hearing 50+ gallons for one of them, and 30+ for the dragon goby alone since they can get over a foot...

I'd be happy if everyone told me 30 gallons was okay, but I expected people to tell me at least 60 or something...

I want to reiterate what I said in the previous post about this subject: I would NOT keep a Dragon Goby with an F8, or a puffer in general, and I also would NOT keep one, even by itself, in a 30 gallon tank. Speaking from experience these guys need at least 50 gallons alone to do well and they can possibly go to marine conditions. They are found in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and down the coast of South America. They do get big and are active, I'll try to get a picture of mine that I have in a 75 gallon tank.

For anyone giving advice this is the previous conversation: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18313

But PufferPunk does it... Is it really that bad an idea? I was thinking 2 baby 1 inch F8s and a 5-6 inch dragon in my 30 gallon until I can save up some money for a 50,60, or 75...

Don't do the "I'll upgrade when I get the money" thing. Only put fish in too-small tanks with the idea of upgrading later if you already have the tank. So many people say that they'll upgrade, but they find out that they can't... And their beloved fish suffer for it.

Its not that hard to track one down on craigslist though... And I have many many many friends who keep animals who literally have empty tanks laying around the house. I'll track one down before I get one, dont worry.

If you'll have the bigger one before you get the goby, then why not just put it straight in there, rather than going through the upgrade process?

That... actually makes sense I'm leaving for the Outer Banks today, but when I get back I'll go bug my buddy Adam. He keeps a lot of reptiles and has a few extra in his garage. I would have to do some rearranging in my bedroom though, which could be a pain, but its summer, so Im sure I can find the time.

But aside from tank size, whats so bad about keeping the dragon and 2 F8s together?

Of course it makes sense. I'm always perfectly sense-making.

The puffers would terrorize the gobies. Also, they prefer higher salinities.

DracoRJC wrote:But PufferPunk does it... Is it really that bad an idea? I was thinking 2 baby 1 inch F8s and a 5-6 inch dragon in my 30 gallon until I can save up some money for a 50,60, or 75...

She has done it before in larger tanks.
In a 30 I would definitely not, for the 2 F8's need 25 gallons plus the bioload of a potential 2 foot fish would mean you would need a tank closer to 50 gallons. If you really want dragon gobies it would probably be best to wait till you have a bigger tank set up

I am doing it in a 29g. My DG doesn't seem to be growing anywhere near a foot, nevermind 2. I wonder if maybe those giant ones are a different species? Even the one I kept in my 90g only got to 15", although it was in FW.

PP you might be onto something. Don't take this as completely accurate but there is something niggling the back of my brain that says I read somewhrere that there are actually two seperate species that are very hard to tell apart listed under the same name: Violet Goby. Maybe one gets huge and the other doesn't. I'm not sure... I'm gonna have to go back and search now to see if I can find where I remember reading it. *shrug* I have a fig 8 w/ a dragon and knight goby in a 38 gallon and they are doing fine. Draco (the dragon goby) is at about 6-7 inches and really hasn't shown much growth since I got him. He might have finally got a bit thicker. Now one thing to take into account is when I got him he came out of a 10gal fw tank, was skinny as a pencil, and the manager said he had been there forever. Now what forever means I have no clue, but redgardless he may have suffered a serious case of stunting before I got him.

qtrhorse89 wrote:PP you might be onto something. Don't take this as completely accurate but there is something niggling the back of my brain that says I read somewhrere that there are actually two seperate species that are very hard to tell apart listed under the same name: Violet Goby. Maybe one gets huge and the other doesn't. I'm not sure... I'm gonna have to go back and search now to see if I can find where I remember reading it. *shrug*

This is a distinct possibility, having a sub-species, that is. I know there is confusion in naming between the Violet Dragon Goby and another fish that has a common name of Violet Goby and Panther Goby.

qtrhorse89 wrote:I have a fig 8 w/ a dragon and knight goby in a 38 gallon and they are doing fine. Draco (the dragon goby) is at about 6-7 inches and really hasn't shown much growth since I got him. He might have finally got a bit thicker. Now one thing to take into account is when I got him he came out of a 10gal fw tank, was skinny as a pencil, and the manager said he had been there forever. Now what forever means I have no clue, but redgardless he may have suffered a serious case of stunting before I got him.

The first one I ever owned (Big Roy) came from a very reputable LFS and came right off the truck. He was bagged in FW and I slowly brought him to brackish. He came at about 3" long and now is about 3/4 inch diameter and about (tried to measure today while he was along the glass but, you know fish....) 18-20 inches. He has a beautiful violet iridescence to him plus the violet gray skin color. The last two I bought I rescued from a PetSmart. They were about 3" long and pencil thin. I introduced them to low end brackish water and for the past year they have grown only a little. One is really starting to grow fast and I had to get rid of the other because I felt he wasn't growing sufficiently due to competition for food and he was getting bullied. The last two do not have that iridescence to them and their body is more dull gray. The one I kept is now starting to look more like Big Roy.

Edit: I forgot to add the link to the info that Badmans Tropical Fish has on these guys. Great info, except the part about using sea salt for bringing the tank to brackish.....
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile126.html

Ah thanks for the info and the link Dadof4. I am watching him very closely. I've never seen one over 15 inches in person but I have seen photos of much larger specimens. For now Draco seems fine. He's gotten a little bit of his purple color back but for the most part he's still grey. I handfeed that entire tank including him so I know he's getting food. He's always had issues though, I didn't think he'd survive the first night in the tank. His dorsal fin was completely gone at the lfs not sure what caused that but it's slowly starting to grow back. ( I know the puffer didn't contribute to this because his fin was gone before he was put into my tank and Hikaru is terrified of him, he goes and hides under his ledge whenever Draco comes out for a short swim) For now i'll just keep an eye on him. At the size he is now, he's fine. If I see he's wanting to have a growth spurt then I'll either upgrade this tank or send him to live with a friend who has a much larger tank and has already shown interest in taking him. Either way he's better off than in that ole' nasty 10gallon the lfs had him in. *shrug*

P.S. I'd love to see a photo of Big Roy if you have it Dadof4