TankBud

New Guinea blue-eye

Pseudomugil novaeguineae

Also known as New Guinea blue-eye rainbowfish

FreshwaterFish

New Guinea blue-eye (Pseudomugil novaeguineae)

Care at a glance

Temperature
79–86°F
26–30°C
pH
6.5–8.0
Adult size
1.8 in
4.5 cm
Minimum tank
15 gal
55 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Schooling
Swim level
Top
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Pseudomugilidae
Origin
Southern New Guinea, Fly River to Etna Bay

Overview

Keep a school of eight or more in around 55 liters, warm and thickly planted. It behaves like the rest of the genus: peaceful, busy in the upper water, with males displaying at each other through the day. Feed fine live and frozen foods with crushed flake. It scatters eggs on mops and moss, and the fry need tiny first foods. Expect to hunt for it, since imports and tank-raised stock both surface only occasionally.

In the wild

The New Guinea blue-eye lives in lowland rainforest creeks across southern New Guinea, from the Fly River in Papua New Guinea west to Etna Bay in West Papua, plus the Aru Islands. It favors warm, gentle water under forest cover. Keep it at 26 to 30 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 8.0 in a densely planted tank with floating cover and mild flow.

Good to know

Pseudomugil novaeguineae was described by Weber in 1907 from material collected on an early Dutch expedition, making it the first blue-eye described from New Guinea. It reaches about 4.5 centimeters, larger than most of the West Papuan species. Males show a red leading edge on the first dorsal fin with pale fin margins. Little has been published on its wild ecology, and it remains rare in collections.

Did you know

This was the first blue-eye ever described from New Guinea, named in 1907 from fish brought back by a Dutch expedition, decades before most of its relatives were discovered in the 1980s and 1990s.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

New Guinea 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 a New Guinea blue-eye need?

A New Guinea blue-eye needs at least 15 gal (55 L). It spends most of its time in the top.

What temperature and pH does a New Guinea blue-eye need?

A New Guinea blue-eye is comfortable at 79–86°F (26–30°C) with a pH of 6.5–8.0.

How big does a New Guinea blue-eye get?

An adult New Guinea blue-eye reaches about 1.8 in (4.5 cm).

Does a New Guinea blue-eye need a group?

Yes. A New Guinea blue-eye is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

Related species