Dragonfish?

fishchick · Jun 22, 2011

So I have a dragonfish in my 55 gallon tank that I've had for about six months now. And up until about a week ago he seemed to be doing very well. The guy at my lfs recommended feeding him shrimp pellets which he was eating. I noticed last night that he has gotten really skinny and when I fed him I watched to make sure he was still eating. Which he was, or well it looked like he was until I noticed after he put the food in his mouth it was coming out his gills instead of being swallowed. So I tried a few blood worms and the same thing happened. He eats them chews on them for a minute and out they come through his gills?? Totally lost with this one..Any Ideas?? Thanks All

england · Jun 22, 2011

Gobioides broussonetti / senegal birchir or arowana?

fishchick · Jun 22, 2011

nelly said:
Gobioides broussonetti / senegal birchir or arowana?

Uhhh...hold that thought lol...definately not an arowana..I wish I had one..I'll try and get the answer for ya..gimme a sec

One of these

england · Jun 22, 2011

Gobioides broussonetti :good:

Are you keeping it in brakish conditions, there eyesight are very poor so sometimes find it dificult to see food

Frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, algae wafers (broken up into smaller pieces),these fish actually have very small throats,

Maybe like cichlids there messy eaters, spitting food through the gills.

fishchick · Jun 22, 2011

nelly said:
Gobioides broussonetti
Are you keeping it in brakish conditions, there eyesight are very poor so sometimes find it dificult to see food

Frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, algae wafers (broken up into smaller pieces),these fish actually have very small throats,

Maybe like cichlids there messy eaters, spitting food through the gills.

yes he's in Brackish water. And the shrimp pellets break up in the water to very very small pieces. He just looks so so skinny, like he's not gaining any weight. I always make sure when I feed him to drop the food right by him and even though his eyesight sucks, his sense of smell must be awesome cause he finds food in some hard to find spots..I've watched him eat whole blood worms before and swallow them. But last night everything just seemed to be coming out his gills..I'm hoping he didn't get a rock or something lodged in his throat..He's got some nasty lookin teeth and I really don't want to have to look..lol

england · Jun 22, 2011

In the wild Gobioides broussonetti are filter feeders, they take huge gulps of water and sort through the substrate sifting out food such as algae and small worms or shrimp. The stuff that they don’t eat gets passed through their gills. As a result, a sand substrate is highly recommended. A gravel substrate, especially if it is sharp, can be harmful to their gills during the feeding process.

fishchick · Jun 22, 2011

ok, ya i've seen him attempt to do that, but he's never been able to pick any of it up that i've noticed. It's just the standard size aquarium gravel. I want to go to sand badly but it's so dam expensive plus i've never ran it in any of my tanks so i've got some homework to still do..