Dragons in the Bay!

Oh, the things you discover in your own backyard..or in my case...Bayou!  I suppose this is not a new discovery, so to speak, but rather a proper identification of something that is occasionally pulled in from the Bay or Bayou.  While on the pier (still fishing for crab bait!), a strange-looking fish was caught in the net.  Someone told me years ago that this type fish was called a "Cigarfish" but when I looked up that term, what I saw was not near like my questionable fishy!  So...the question of the day.."Just what is this fish's name?"  To find out, I turned to my local fish-identifying-expert, Taylor!  Taylor is a friend of Michael's.  He runs the local bait shop, "Crabby's", and has a vast knowledge of all that swims in the Bay, Bayou and Gulf!  I turn to him whenever I have a question and always get an answer!

It turns out that my previous fish-identifier-person was wrong..oh, so wrong!  Taylor informed me that I had caught none other than a what locals call a  Dragon Fish. The fish's true name is Violet Goby!  I squinted a bit I could imagine a wee bit of violet near the tail!  Still, I suppose it is a goby of some sort and when I compare it to the pictures he sent, I have to agree..it is a Violet Goby.  Now..just what do I do with a Violet Goby?  I read the information that he sent.  It seems that these are the same Gobies that are found in pet shops.  The wild fish are caught and acclimated to live in aquariums. I thought of trying to acclimate my Goby to live in the Frog Pond!   This seemed to me sort of like a cruel situation for the poor Goby so I tossed Mr. Dragon Fish back into the Bay!

In the wild, Violet Gobies can be found in most brackish waters along the Coast and can get up to twenty-four inches in length!  Mine was about eight inches long.  Even though they are armed with many sharp teeth, they are quite docile.  Those teeth are primarily used to scrape algae from rocks and things such as pier posts.  They have small eyes and are nearly blind thus keeping them from being fierce predators.  Violet Gobies are more likely to be scavengers than hunters.  I am appreciative of Taylor setting the record straight and identifying my odd little fish for me!  It would have been highly inconsiderate of me to keep calling it by the wrong name!  So...no more Cigarfish...Hello, Dragon Fish!