Purple spotted gudgeon

Care at a glance

Overview

The purple spotted gudgeon is a sturdy, bottom-oriented sleeper goby and one of the larger ones kept by hobbyists. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Caring for the purple spotted gudgeon

A tank of at least 40 gal (150 L) gives one purple spotted gudgeon or a pair enough room. Use a soft, sandy floor with plenty of rock and wood to form caves and boundaries, plus some planting. Fit a secure lid, since it can be a jumper.

It suits warm to subtropical water, at 68 to 79°F (20 to 26°C) and a near neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Give it gentle flow and clean, well-oxygenated water. It is adaptable and copes with a range of hardness, as long as you avoid extremes.

It hunts meaty prey and largely ignores flake. Feed frozen and live foods such as bloodworms, prawn, earthworms and small invertebrates.

Keep it singly or as a single compatible pair, since it is territorial with its own kind. It eats smaller fish and shrimp. Toward larger, robust tank mates it is fairly easygoing, so pick companions it cannot swallow and that will not bully it.

The purple spotted gudgeon is a substrate spawner. The male cleans a flat rock or log, and the female lays a batch of small, sticky eggs on it. The male then fans and guards the eggs until they hatch, and his spots glow more strongly while he is in breeding condition. The spawning itself is straightforward, but getting a settled pair and raising the fry take patience, so breeding is hard.

Good to know

The purple spotted gudgeon belongs to Eleotridae, the sleeper gobies. Like other sleepers, it has separate pelvic fins rather than the fused sucker of true gobies.

In the wild

The purple spotted gudgeon is widespread across northern and eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It lives in rivers, creeks, billabongs and still floodplain pools, often among rocks, roots and plants.

Common questions

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