April 23

Peacock Gudgeon Aquarium Care Guide

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Peacock Gudgeon

Introduction

Are you looking for a community fish that demands the least attention?

Are you looking for a fish that has a vibrant color and at the same time is absolutely non-aggressive?

If yes, then the fish we are going to discuss today might be of interest.

The fish variety we are talking about is Peacock Gudgeon, and it can be a perfect choice for a community tank. Popularly known as Peacock eye Gudgeon or Peacock goby, they have the scientific name Tateurndina ocellicauda. In this article, we will give you detailed information if you want to keep Peacock Gudgeon in your fish tank.

What to know about Peacock Gudgeon in a nutshell?

Peacock Gudgeons thrive well in a tank of a minimum of 40 liters capacity. They are peaceful in nature and omnivorous by habit. You should try to maintain a water temperature of 72 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit and a water pH of 6-7. The fish grow up to 3 inches in length under healthy conditions.

Where does the Peacock Gudgeon originate from?

Peacock Gudgeon typically originated in New Zealand and Australia while the biotype can be found in New Guinea as well.

What sort of habitat does Peacock Gudgeon thrive on?

Peacock Gudgeons are a good-looking small type of fish that is not a carp gudgeon. They belong to the Eleotridae family and do not have coalesced pectoral fin as compared to the true carp gudgeons. Being the smallest variety of its kind, these fishes are perfect dwellers for a tank having lots of plants.

Peacock Gudgeons usually prefer inhabiting shallow, slow waters or might be lentic waters of streams, rivers, and ponds found in the South East of the Papua Guinea Island as well as in the lowland streams, rivers, and ponds in the east of the island. Also, they are often seen in the tropical forest pond and like swimming in shallow waters.

What are the physical features of the Peacock Gudgeon?

As a freshwater colorful carp fish, the body of a peacock goby has a bluish tinge with silver and pink stripes along with black and yellow marks all over its body and fins. The fish body also contains a blurred black spot. The dorsal, anal fins, and tail have a light blue shade along with red spots.

What should be the ideal aquarium conditions for keeping Peacock Gudgeon?

Although the fish is small in size, it requires an aquarium with a minimum of 40 liters of water capacity. Unlike other freshwater aquarium fishes, these fishes don’t need larger space as they are not good swimmers. You will, however, require providing a larger aquarium in case you choose to keep them with other roommates. 

Considering the security aspect, you may put a darker substrate for the fishes. It’s essential that you provide a nesting place with a wide PVC pipe or might be a hollow bamboo. But make sure that the nesting place is hollow and remains embedded in the substrate but not horizontally. When the fish feel at ease, it will automatically flaunt itself and sport its beautiful and vibrant color.

Do not expose your fish to too much current, since Peacock Gudgeon is not a very fast swimmer and hence, won’t be able to endure much for long. Also, with a constant flow of current, it will exhaust itself. You have to choose the standard type of filtration with good water quality. It’s better if you can break the current of water by directing the filter outlet against the window of the tank. And, in case you want to maintain optimal water quality, you need to change the water regularly by 20%.

How does the Peacock Gudgeon breed?

For the Peacock Gudgeon to breed successfully, you require to maintain them in groups of 6-8. As these fishes prefer to form couples naturally, you can feed them with varied and live prey in order to stimulate lovers. One of the best ways to stimulate the breeding process is to make a change in tank water. The temperature of the water should be maintained at 26 degrees Celsius and the corresponding pH of the water at 7.

When the females bear eggs, the abdomen usually becomes yellowish or orange in color. Before mating, the male generally exhibits a characteristic dance around the females and deploys her fins. The female will naturally get attracted to the nesting place.


    Spawning takes place inside a cavity or under large leaves. Coconut, bamboo, or root hole can be used to make a cavity facilitating the spawning process. You may make use of a PVC tube for this purpose as well. When the female lays eggs, the male fertilizes those immediately. The fries so born will be of a particular size, and their growth tends to be slow. The males will accompany the little ones until the resorption of egg yolk occurs, so they can swim freely.

    Please make sure that the eggs do not remain in contact with the air even for a smaller while. It is important that they remain continuously submerged. Start the breeding tank before the introduction of fry. You may consider accommodating microfauna inside the tank as it will serve as food for the young ones. Remember, you have to remove all the fishes from the bin after spawning.

    What food does the Peacock Gudgeon feed upon?

    The greatest drawback of these fish is that they consume only live food. They tend to ignore dry food, but you try, you can be successful in feeding them with small pellet food. Although you feed them with smaller-sized frozen food like cyclops, Coretta, and bloodworm, the fish is usually seen not that happy with those.

    It’s not practical to feed the fish with frozen brine shrimp. Usually, this fish prefers to gobble up its mouth with the food but definitely not its prey. You may feed them with dried food. Peacock Gudgeon may prefer small and frozen food like daphnia, bloodworm, and brines shrimp. When fed with this kind of diet, the fish will show better coloration, and you can also make them come into a spawning condition. The diet would, therefore, act as a catalyst and help to attain spawning quickly.

    In case you prefer feeding your fish with artificial food, then you have to prefer foods like –Hikari micro pellet, API fish food pellet, Zoo med spirulina, and Fluval bug bites. But make sure that your fishes do not die out of the infection-borne diseases due to low-quality food. That said, this type of fish food is the best type, and it even keeps the fish tank clean.

    What is the average lifespan of a Peacock Gudgeon?

    On average, under favorable conditions, a healthy Peacock Gudgeon can live up to 4-5 years.

    What are the various diseases with which your Peacock Gudgeon can get infected?

    The various diseases of these fishes are mostly caused by fungus and parasites, which will be discussed in this section. The most common of fish diseases are white spot disease, marine white spot disease, anchor worms, skin or gill flukes, anchor worms, hole-in-the-head disease, velvet, marine velvet, dropsy, and tuberculosis. They even suffer from a very common disease called Ich or Ick.

    While you remove the aquarium decorations from one place to another, you have to be careful. White spot disease, which is generally caused by Ichthyophthiriusmultifilis has the most distinguishing symptom of having white spots in the body and fins. Heavy breathing is another symptom, and you will then find an infected fish rubbing its skin against the wall of the aquarium.

    Marine white spot disease is caused by a parasite called Cryptocaryon. The symptoms so caused by the parasite are similar to that of freshwater Ich. The saltwater species may become immune against Cryptocaryon, and it can sustain up to 6 months.

    Skin and gill flukes are caused by a parasitic flatworm known as Trematodes. They are known as flukes since they have a flattened body shape just like flounder. A healthy fish will be able to withstand a small fluke attack, but a large fluke attack can be lethal for your Peacock Gudgeon. The reason is that gill fluke can cause similar damage and lesions. Skin and gill flukes can also be the main reason behind the hyperplasia of the epithelium layer of both skin and gill. When the skin and gill are damaged, the fish tends to become more vulnerable to attacks by Trematodes.

    Sometimes, the fishes are attacked in the head by anchor worms. Under such conditions, you should change the water as saltwater has minimal effect on anchor worms. Please note that you should never try to pull the worms using force as the worm might stay with the head and grow a new body.

    A hole in the head of the fish is a disease caused by Hexamita. It is a flagellated protozoan found in the intestinal tract of fish species. When the water quality of the aquarium drops, it’s transmitted via feces to other fishes. Usually, a sore will form from above the eyes of the fish, and that can grow even to a larger hole. Commonly found in Cichlids, larger-sized fishes are more prone to this disease.

    What are the various symptoms that indicate the fish is prone to diseases?

    When your fish is in the fish tank, you may observe that it lacks movement, or it might slow down a bit. Also, while feeding, they begin swelling at the bottom strata of the aquarium. You will notice that the fish loses the usual black or white spot and shows signs of fin rot, cottony patches, clamped fins, and also cottony patches. No visible worms can hang off, and no bloating will occur. The next disorder that occurs is that your fish loses its appetite.

    How do you prevent the water environment from deteriorating?

    In order to maintain a healthy atmosphere for your Peacock Gudgeon to survive, you have to maintain a healthy atmosphere. You can follow the below-mentioned measures:

    •Do not overfeed the fishes. It’s because of the fish being given excess food, these get deposited at the bottom of the tank, decaying of which causes the tank water environment to deteriorate.

    • Whenever a fish dies, immediately remove the carcass from the tank, so as to maintain a healthy environment for the rest of the fishes.

    •Keep a raft net cage so that the organic matters can be cleared periodically and the water remains clean.

    How do I boost the resistance mechanism of Peacock Gudgeons?

    •    You must maintain a certain density of fish in a tank or culture pond. In fact, if the tank is too much crowded, the fish will knock against each other, leading to injuries that are difficult to heal.

    •    Do not feed your fishes with trash fishes that do not provide balanced nutrition. These generally reduce the resistance mechanism of fishes and make them prone to pathogenic infection.

    •    Try to use dry pellet for feeding your fishes, which are hygienic, dry, nutritious, and low in bacteria.

    How can you reduce pathogens from the fish tank containing Peacock Gudgeon?

    Here are some effective ways by which you can control and reduce pathogens in the fish tank:

    •    Out of the various methods of controlling the fish tank from getting infected with pathogens, some pathogens can be eliminated by the process of deep freezing.

    •    You may disinfect with an electric steam gun using it for about 5 minutes.

    •    You can immerse the water in formaldehyde in the ratio 1:4,000 ratio for about 1 hour and then rinse the water thoroughly.

    •    Immerse domestic bleach in the ratio of 1:2000 for three hours and then you can neutralize the water with sodium bicarbonate.

    •    Disinfect the fertilized eggs from the fries as the fertilized eggs have more chances of bearing the pathogens. However, the fertilized eggs can be treated with a sterilizing agent or potassium permanganate before stocking.

    •    You must purchase quality fries of certified quality as that will minimize the chances of getting pathogen-infected.

    What is the typical behavior of Peacock Gudgeon?

    The Peacock Gudgeon can be kept in smaller groups without much hazard. Being peaceful by nature, the fish will tend to live happily in the available territory, but with other small and peaceful fishes. The peacock goby prefers to squabble among them without any problem. They can be even more entertaining to watch when in a group rather than being just a couple.

    Who can be the ideal tank mates for your Peacock Gudgeon?

    The ideal tank mates of Peacock Gudgeons might include other species from different countries, particularly those species from Papua New Guinea and the species could be Popondettasp, tetra, rasboras, and Corydoras cats, and some other fishes of cool temperament. In case you desire to keep other territorial species like dwarf cichlids, you require keeping them in a bigger tank with a larger water capacity.

    What sort of sexual dimorphism do Peacock Gudgeons exhibit?

    The matured male fishes are generally more colorful than the female ones, especially in spawning conditions. They develop a feature, a pronounced nuchal hump, and are a little larger than the females. Females sport a yellow color near their bellies, which is missing in the case of the males. While they are young, their anal fin makes a difference. The females also exhibit a darker bar running along the length of the outer edge of their fin. The males, however, lack this kind of stripe.

    How do I set up an aquarium for my Peacock Gudgeon?

    Peacock Gudgeons are one of the most desired fishes for aquarium hobbyists. These not-so-fast swimmers have a tendency to look for food at the bottom of the fish tank. They are vividly colored and are of a peaceful nature, which is why they are preferred as an aquarium variety.

    •    You have to first understand where these fishes come from so that you can provide them with similar habitat. Also, you need to maintain a pH to the water, making it conducive for them to thrive. You may put rock and sand at the bottom of the fish tank where they swim.

    •    You need to set up a tank with a minimum of 60 gallons of water. Do not make the fish vertically big, as these fishes have a tendency to swim horizontally.

    •     Avoid the usage of gravels at the bottom of the fish, as there are chances the fish might cut the edges of its fins. You may arrange the rocks at the bottom of the bed to form caves, as Peacock Gudgeons like hideout places.

    •    The tank size should be enough to accommodate four females and a male. You will have to plant hardy plants so that the fishes can play with them. In case you want to keep more variety of fishes in the same tank, the Peacock Gudgeons are seen to behave territorially. So, it’s advisable that you go for at least 100 gallons of water where the fishes can swim freely.

    •    The temperature inside the aquarium has to be maintained ideally at 76 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit with the pH of the water kept around 7.8 to 8.6. It’s recommended that you maintain an even temperature as fluctuations are never good for the fish’s wellbeing.

    For fishkeepers, rearing Peacock Gudgeon is a very critical affair, but provided you abide by certain conditions, the process becomes much easier. Follow the procedure of sterilization of water and always feed the fishes with good food bought from reliable sources, so that your Peacock Gudgeons are healthy and look vibrantly beautiful. Fishkeeping can be a real pleasure when you abide by necessary instructions as it will ensure your fishes remain disease-free.


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