Peacock gudgeon

Care at a glance

Overview

The peacock gudgeon is a small, gentle, colorful fish that does well in a group of five or more, where males stake out little cave territories and display to each other without real harm. It hovers in the middle of a planted tank rather than hugging the floor, and its calm nature makes it a good match for other peaceful nano fish and for dwarf shrimp too large to be eaten. It prefers small foods and can be shy of dry flake, so offer frozen and live bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp, with fine micro pellets as a supplement. Give it soft, gently flowing water, plenty of plants, and small caves or pipes. A tank of 75 liters or larger comfortably holds a group.

In the wild

The peacock gudgeon comes from eastern Papua New Guinea, where it lives in slow, shady rainforest streams, pools, and creeks with soft, slightly acidic water. Aim for warm, calm conditions around 22 to 26 °C and a pH from about 6 to 7.5, with gentle filtration rather than strong current. Dense planting, driftwood, leaf litter, and shaded spots recreate the cover it uses in the wild and help it feel secure enough to show its colors. Clean, stable water and small regular water changes keep this fish at its best.

Good to know

The peacock gudgeon is a member of Eleotridae, the sleeper gobies, and reaches about 7.5 cm, with males growing larger than females and developing a raised nuchal hump on the forehead. As a sleeper, its pelvic fins are separate rather than joined into the sucker of true gobies. It is a cave spawner: the female attaches fifty to a hundred eggs to the roof of a cave, the male drives her out, and he then fans and guards the clutch until it hatches. Breeding is possible but counts as demanding, since the newly hatched fry are tiny and need very small live foods to get started.

Common questions

Related species

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