Instructions
Keep the Dragon Goby in a tank that holds at least 30 gallons of water with other similarly sized, non-aggressive fish.
Strategically arrange rocks or bogwood so the Dragon Goby can use these use as hiding spaces. Use fine gravel or sandy substrate on the bottom surface of the tank. Gobies occasionally bury themselves in the sand and sharp gravel may injure them.
Place the Dragon goby in an aquarium with brackish water. The best water conditions have a 1 percent addition of salt with specific gravity of 1.005 to 1.010. These fish thrive in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums but you must slowly introduce them to the change in salinity and allow them to acclimate gradually, but ideally, avoid switching them between saline and fresh-water tanks.
Feed small, live foods when available like plankton, daphnia or bloodworms. Most gobies accept frozen or flake foods in a pinch. Dragon Gobies are scavengers that feed by scooping gravel or substrate in their large mouths to eat the tiny organisms they find there before spitting the gravel back out.
Keep the water pH between 6.5 and 8.5.
Keep water temperature between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep water hardness between medium to hard with a pH of 10.0 to 20.0.
Regularly monitor ammonia levels and keep them low. Dragon gobies are sensitive to ammonia and elevated levels in the water cause the fish to gasp at the surface. If this happens, dilute the ammonia level with water immediately or the fish will likely die.
How to Take Care of Dragon Goby Fish
Dragon Gobies may look like miniature, menacing eels, but these shy scavengers are mild in temperament. They clean up a tank, which occasionally includes eating small or sickly fish, and Dragons do well in tanks with other non-aggressive fish. Though most gobies are small, a healthy Dragon goby kept in a salt-water aquarium can grow longer than a foot and live for about 10 years. Their name comes from the dorsal find that runs down the length of their bodies, making them look like dragons, but they are also called Violet Gobies because healthy fish have a purplish tint.