TankBud

Ivantsoff's blue-eye

Pseudomugil ivantsoffi

Also known as Ivantsoff's blue-eye rainbowfish, Ivantsoff's rainbowfish

FreshwaterFish

Ivantsoff's blue-eye (Pseudomugil ivantsoffi)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–82°F
24–28°C
pH
6.8–7.8
Adult size
1.6 in
4 cm
Minimum tank
11 gal
40 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Schooling
Swim level
Top
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Rare
Family
Pseudomugilidae
Origin
Timika region, southern West Papua

Overview

Keep a group of eight or more, with females outnumbering males if breeding is the goal, in 40 liters or larger. It is timid and completely peaceful, safe even with shrimp, and needs equally gentle tankmates or a tank of its own. Males carry extended fins washed in red and yellow and display at each other through the day. Feed fine live and frozen foods with crushed flake, and give the fry tiny first foods, since they grow slowly.

In the wild

Ivantsoff's blue-eye lives in small, shaded jungle streams around Timika in southern West Papua, often in slow, tannin-stained water under overhanging plants. It shares these streams with the red neon and transparent blue-eyes. Keep it at 24 to 28 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.8 to 7.8, dense planting, floating cover, a dark substrate, and gentle flow.

Good to know

Pseudomugil ivantsoffi was described in 1999 by Allen and Renyaan and named for Walter Ivantsoff, a lifelong researcher of the blue-eye family. Early collections were mistaken for Pseudomugil reticulatus, a species from the Vogelkop Peninsula some 900 kilometers away, before the two were separated. It reaches about 4 centimeters, scatters its eggs in fine plants, and is assessed as Endangered in the wild, so tank-bred stock matters.

Did you know

When this blue-eye first turned up it was identified as Pseudomugil reticulatus, a fish from 900 kilometers away on the far side of West Papua. It took closer study to show the Timika fish was its own species.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Ivantsoff's blue-eye is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the top. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does an Ivantsoff's blue-eye need?

An Ivantsoff's blue-eye needs at least 11 gal (40 L). It spends most of its time in the top.

What temperature and pH does an Ivantsoff's blue-eye need?

An Ivantsoff's blue-eye is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 6.8–7.8.

How big does an Ivantsoff's blue-eye get?

An adult Ivantsoff's blue-eye reaches about 1.6 in (4 cm).

Does an Ivantsoff's blue-eye need a group?

Yes. An Ivantsoff's blue-eye is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

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