Gobioides broussonnetii
| Violet goby | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Gobiidae |
| Genus: | Gobioides |
| Species: | G. broussonnetii |
| Binomial name | |
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Gobioides broussonnetii Lacepède, 1800 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Gobioides broussonnetii, the violet goby, is a species of goby native to marine, fresh and brackish waters near the Atlantic coast of North and South America from South Carolina in the United States of America, to northern Brazil. It prefers bays, estuaries and river mouths with muddy substrates. It is often marketed as the dragon goby or dragon fish.
The Violet goby has a long, slender, eel-like body. Its dorsal and anal fins run almost the entire length of the body. The teeth are very sharp; however these are used for scraping algae off rocks, not fighting. When kept in good condition, dragon gobies develop an attractive, iridescent, silvery-blue metallic color with a gold blotch pattern. Violet gobies seen in pet stores are generally 3 to 5 inches (7.6–12.7 cm) long. In the wild, violet gobies can grow to 24 inches (61 cm) long. However, in captivity they seldom grow past 15 inches (38 cm). Males tend to have long, pointed genital papilla, while that of the females are shorter, blunt, and yellow in color.
Violet gobies usually inhabit brackish swamps, streams, and estuaries with a muddy substrate. Violet gobies have very small eyes, and as such are primarily scavengers. Their key method of obtaining food is by scooping up mouthfuls of gravel and sorting edible material from the substrate, and then spitting out the substrate and swallowing the food particles. They also use their highly specialized teeth to scrape algae off of rocks.
Its commercial trade name is "dragon goby" or "dragon fish". It is often sold as a "highly aggressive" fish, but violet gobies are actually quite docile, and nearly blind.
This is not a very common fish among hobbyists, perhaps because it is hard to find, both commercially and in the tank. Dragon gobies tend to disappear from the market for long periods of time, but are easier to find in stores within their natural range. Meanwhile, they often hide all day, coming out only when the lights are out and owners asleep. As noted above, they are often described by local fish stores as aggressive, capable of eating any fish that fits in their mouth...when, in fact, they are simply detritivores.
Despite its fierce looks, large mouth, and many teeth, the violet goby is a predator scavenger. If well fed, it usually will not bother smaller fish. Any small, peaceful, brackish water-tolerant fish can coexist with violet gobies. Examples include mollies, guppies, swordtails, platies, bumblebee goby, and glass fish. The violet goby is only kept with peaceful fish, as it has poor eyesight and may be bullied by more boisterous fish. However, if two violet gobies exist in a tank too small, one will eventually claim the entire area their own territory and fiercely defend it.
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Wikipedia