What Kinds of Fruits or Vegetables Will My Dragon Goby Eat?

The dragon goby originates from the brackish, or slightly salty, swamps and rivers of Florida. Waterways with muddy bottoms are the dragon goby's ideal habitat, so you'll have to re-create that to keep gobies in a aquarium most successfully.

  1. Fish Description

    • Dragon goby bodies have a purple hue, giving the fish the nickname violet gobies. In captivity, gobies reach around 4 inches in length in a smaller tank; a larger tank may produce gobies up to 15 inches long. In the wild, they may grow up to 24 inches. The large mouths of dragon gobies work like trap doors and contains teeth that work as filters.

    Food of Choice

    • The dragon goby prefers protein-based food and benthic organisms, or those living on the bottom of the tank -- therefore vegetables and fruit are not recommended. Since your gobies will most likely not eat the fruits and vegetables, they'll just settle on the bottom of the tank; ultimately they'll cause the water to appear dirty or cloud. Feeding your goby bloodworms and brine shrimp, fresh or frozen, shrimp pellets and algae wafers keeps him healthy. When he's sharing a tank with other fish, you may notice your goby eating fish flakes left to sink by other fish.

    Feeding Habits

    • The dragon goby is a scavenger and filter feeder. Their diet consists of protein-based foods. Having sand substrate in your aquarium provides a safe environment. Rounded rocks will work as long as they do not have sharp edges that may harm your fish̵7;s mouth. The dragon goby swims along the bottom of the tank, sucks in a small amount of sand and sifts it through his teeth looking for nutrients. Also, he uses his teeth to scrape algae off rocks.

    Living Conditions

    • Gobies, in their natural habitat in muddy waterways, burrow into the mud. In their natural habitat, they feed off of protein-filled mussels and plankton -- not fruits and vegetables. In an aquarium, the dragon goby prefers plants and roots for shelter. They are naturally docile; they live well with other gobies and freshwater fish species. When another fish enters the goby̵7;s territory, he simply pushes the fish away with his long body, seldom causing harm to either fish. A tank with pH of 7.5 to 8.0 and hard water with an alkalinity of 10 to 20 dKH work best for gobies. Also, sea salt added to make the water brackish creates the optimal living conditions.