i found a very interesting site which says that you can have dragon fish in with your goldfish the website is

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/...dragon_fish.htm

(i hope that works) it is also know as the Violet Goby. They look very nice and grow to 15" they have to be ordered as they are wild caught (i dont think its fair on the fish)

the website says it can be placed with goldfish like orandas, black moors and fantails

what do youo guys think of this fish?

It sounds okay, I've never kept one, but I just asked Dr G00gle, and they seem like okay partners for goldies, pretty flexible, but they do do better in brackish water. How hard do you keep your water? I also found out, that although they're fine with nitrites/nitrates they're really susceptible to ammonia, like, will succumb in hours.

They have spines and can be aggressive if feeling threatened, may misinterpret friendly bumbling goldies as aggression.

Otherwise, seems like a good match.

cool, i wouldnt have one though my tanks too small and i dont like the idea of putting it in a tank when it could be living free in a river somewhere!
it would be horrible if i had one and then something went wrong with my tank and it died!

Yeah I'm with you on that one, that's why I like goldies so much! they're so man-made I don't feel so bad keeping them in a tank as most of them wouldn't survive in the wild with all their telescopic eyes and stumpy body shapes etc.

There are so many tropical fish out there that don't breed in the wild, even the more ubiquetous ones, like clown loaches, are taken from the wild.

I totally agree with you about loving manmade goldies. I have a boston terrier too and he's another manmade pet and I love him.

From what I've read, violet gobies just don't do very well if they're in fresh for all of their life. I've got a brackish tank so I've read up on the different species a bit. Granted, they really don't have a long lifespan, but I don't think I'd want to keep one in freshwater after seeing how my other brackish fish thrived when I moved them out of fresh.

thats also the reason why as much as i like them i would never ever have a marine set up, if you do something wrong them poor fish would have to suffer and even though you can make mistakes with any pet they have too many special requirements!

omg.. just reading through that link, everything they've said on the fish, none of that would make me think they would be good tankmates for goldfish (not finding food quickly, so dont keep with greedy fish (duuuuh!) then they say its ok! I dont trust that site at all, i've so much stuff on there that is just so wrong..

Jeez, sorry I opened the link..LOL. I am usually the tough as nails type but when it comes to eel like critters, I dont fair well. You should see me cringe at the sight of a lung fish.

Hey,that wouldn't make a good tank mate for goldfish.I have one they are neat fish but they have tiny eyes so they dont see that well your gold fish would have eaten all the food by time it got to the dragon fish they dont tolerate amonia well either.They might live with GF,IMO i wouldn't try it.water parmas are the same true.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/nomadfkr/DSC00143.jpg

Although the site says it would be okay, IMO I would not do it. Like others have stated, goldfish are faster and are greedy when it comes to food. If this fish is slower and has trouble locating food due to smaller eyes that would be one draw back.

Another drawback would be the preference of water. They seem to prefer brackish water.


You could give it a try...but me, I wouldn't attempt it.

I recently got a dragon fish and put him in with my 2 goldfish. My goldfish got sick (due to water conditions) and both died in the last 24 hrs. But the Dragon Fish is going strong. Everyone is telling me he needs a tropical tank. I am so glad you showed me that site! Thanks!