Swamp blue-eye

Care at a glance

Overview

A school of eight or more suits it in 40 liters and up, kept warm and calm. It is peaceful and easily outcompeted, so pair it only with small, gentle tankmates or keep a species tank. Feed fine live and frozen foods and crushed flake. Tank-raised fish appear occasionally from specialist importers, and it remains one of the least seen blue-eyes in the hobby.

In the wild

The swamp blue-eye lives up to its name, inhabiting lowland swamps, oxbows, and slow tributaries in southwestern Papua New Guinea. The water there is warm, still, and heavily vegetated. Run its tank warmer than for most blue-eyes, 26 to 30 degrees Celsius, with a pH of 7.0 to 8.0, dense planting, floating cover, and little to no flow.

Good to know

Pseudomugil paludicola was described by Allen and Moore in 1981, and the name means swamp dweller. At about 3.5 centimeters it is among the smaller blue-eyes, semi-translucent with yellow on the front of the anal fin, the tail base, and the edge of the second dorsal fin in males. It scatters eggs low in the tank on moss and mops, and spawning has been reported in both acidic and alkaline water.

Did you know

Most blue-eyes come from flowing streams, but this one is a true swamp fish that likes its water warm and still, closer to 30 degrees than most of its relatives will ever see.

Related species

• Honey blue-eye

  Pseudomugil mellis

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)68–82°F (20–28°C)
• Paska's blue-eye

  Pseudomugil paskai

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Red neon blue-eye

  Pseudomugil luminatus

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
• Vogelkop blue-eye

  Pseudomugil reticulatus

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Ivantsoff's blue-eye

  Pseudomugil ivantsoffi

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Transparent blue-eye

  Pseudomugil pellucidus

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)