Urgent Help Please Mudskipper

hay guys please I am in need of urgent help yesterday I bought a mudskipper put him in a tank with only him and he behaved normally. now I decided to get another one I put him in about a hour ago and it is floating by his head with his fins outstretched when u touch him he reacts normally please what's wrong with him will he make it

Need much more information that this.

What size tank? How big is the mudskipper in question? How long have you had him? What is the salinity? What is the water quality like?

Cheers, Neale

hay nmonks thanks for the reply its the next morning and he seems to be doing ok. I am new to the whole mudskipper thing and I just wanted to ask can anyone give me some info on keeping them I have them in a 60 liter I know its a bit small but I plan on getting a bigger one. I think they are Indian mudskippers can anyone confirm by looking at the picture I attached. any help would be greatly appreciated thanks p.s they are about 4.5 inches.

josh63762 said:

hay nmonks thanks for the reply its the next morning and he seems to be doing ok. I am new to the whole mudskipper thing and I just wanted to ask can anyone give me some info on keeping them I have them in a 60 liter I know its a bit small but I plan on getting a bigger one. I think they are Indian mudskippers can anyone confirm by looking at the picture I attached. any help would be greatly appreciated thanks p.s they are about 4.5 inches.

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To make the most of Neale's great wealth of knowlege (esepecially in oddballs), please provide him with all the detail you can to his questions...

What salinity have you got this mudskipper tank set at? Most (if not all) need salty water to some extent

What is the water quality like (ammonia; nitrite; nitrate readings (ideally using a liquid test kit); how often and how big are the water changes you do etc.?

How long have you had him?

That's just the thing i have only had them for two days and that is the reason why i am so naive i have been a fish keeper for about 5 years and i love the hobby. But i am new to owning mudskippers and want to learn as much as i can on the topic here is all the info i can provide:1 the mudskippers i own are freshwater totally freshwater fact 2 i do not yet have a kit to test for ammonia etc only pH which is 7.4. 3 i own 2of them in a 60 liter tank i know its small and plan on getting a bigger one. 4 they are about 4.5 inches in length. 5 i need more info on the topic please thanks josh p.s can anyone tell me what species of mudskipper they are thanks

josh63762 said:

1 the mudskippers i own are freshwater totally freshwater

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There is NO SUCH THING as a freshwater mudskipper. If your retailer told you this he is either [a] ignorant or lying. You MUST provide at least SG 1.005; that's 9 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water. Ideally, provide twice that much for about SG 1.010, but SG 1.005 will be fine for now. You cannot keep mudskippers in freshwater. There's no discussion here. None at all. Go buy the marine aquarium salt mix today if you don't have any; the longer you keep the mudskipper in freshwater, the sooner it will die. Don't faff around upping the salinity over a few days; change 50% of the water with SG 1.005 water now, and then do another 50% SG 1.005 water change a few hours later. Don't worry about the filter bacteria -- you need to get this mudskipper in brackish water ASAP.

josh63762 said:

2 i do not yet have a kit to test for ammonia etc only pH which is 7.4.

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Ammonia isn't a huge problem for mudskippers because they spend most of their time out of the water. But do all the usual things as you would if cycling a tank with a fish in it. Feed as little as possible, do 25% water changes every day or two, and remove any uneaten food as soon as you see it.

josh63762 said:

3 i own 2of them in a 60 liter tank i know its small and plan on getting a bigger one.

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Good. While mudskipper species can thrive with a certain amount of overcrowding, all species are aggressive, and the males of some species (especially Periophthalmus barbarus) are psychotic. Your specimens are much too big for an aquarium this small. Even a tank twice that size would be pushing it.

josh63762 said:

4 they are about 4.5 inches in length.

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That's pretty big. Periophthalmus argentilineatus and Periophthalmus barbarus are the two commonest "big" mudskippers seen in aquaria, though there are others occasionally traded.

josh63762 said:

5 i need more info on the topic please thanks josh p.s can anyone tell me what species of mudskipper they are thanks

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Look at photos of Periophthalmus argentilineatus, Periophthalmus novemradiatus and Periophthalmus barbarus, read this excellent article by Gianluca Polgar on mudskippers, and also look at the section on mudskippers in my FAQ (see links below for more). Your photos are too small for me to see the crucial details, especially the colour of the dorsal fins.

Cheers, Neale

More pics & info in Gianluca Polgar's mudskipper page.

Also look in this link.

Good luck! Great pets!

And don't forget Neale's book: great reading on skippers and many other interesting brackish fishes.

Maurizio

Thanks so much guys for the the replies. Neal you know what i thought something was wrong as all the pages i read said the same thing but what kept changing my mind was the fact that the owner of the shop had kept them in freshwater for 3 months maybe more. At the moment i am not able to get hold of aquarium salt will regular table salt suffice for now? I cant test the salinity so how many teaspoons per liter sorry i know i seem very uneducated on the subject but its because i am. I phoned the owner of the store i bought them in today and asked him if they were 100% freshwater he said yes he does not stock brackish water fish(cant believe it) oh and i attached a pic of one with his fin partly out hope it helps any idea what species? thanks!

josh63762 said:

At the moment i am not able to get hold of aquarium salt will regular table salt suffice for now?

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If non-iodised (e.g., Kosher salt) then possibly. Would not use this sort of salt for longer than a few days though.

josh63762 said:

I cant test the salinity so how many teaspoons per liter sorry i know i seem very uneducated on the subject but its because i am.

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Use kitchen scales to measure your teaspoons, but a standardised cooks' teaspoonful of salt should measure about 6 grammes, so 1.5 teaspoons should be 9 grammes. It may be easier to weigh out 90 grammes and add that to 10 litres of water. Buy a hydrometer though in the next few days; these cost very little (~$5-10 for the basic floating glass ones) and they're essential for double-checking the salinity, even if you weigh out the salt carefully.

josh63762 said:

I phoned the owner of the store i bought them in today and asked him if they were 100% freshwater he said yes he does not stock brackish water fish (cant believe it) oh and i attached a pic of one with his fin partly out hope it helps any idea what species? thanks!

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Looks like Periophthalmus barbarus to me, but do solicit second opinions for the likes of Gianluca Polgar and Richard Mleczko. In any event, your retailer is either deliberately misleading you or doesn't know squat about the tropical fish he's selling.

Cheers, Neale

thanks for the reply last thing how often should i feed them and what put some small crickets in there today they were not tempted maybe full?

No, your specimen looks underweight. Will become hungry once moved to brackish conditions, so worry about salinity first, food later.

Cheers, Neale

josh63762 said:

thanks for the reply last thing how often should i feed them and what put some small crickets in there today they were not tempted maybe full?

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hay guys yesterday i put in about 1.5 teaspoons of coarse salt in the there tank they don't seem to be taking it well. one has gone pale and the other one seems to be doing OK for now. the salt could have been iodized not sure if it was could it have this affect will they be fine for now or should i go buy non iodized salt now

id just take the fish back...

not going to happen my interest and love for these fish is to great. guys to be honest i really think this fish would be best in fresh water as far as i can see it was raised in freshwater and has been living in freshwater for a long time i know its probably not meant to be in freshwater and i understand that there life span will be reduced by doing this but to be honest i just don't think they can cope with the change and i fear the wont make it if i convert them seems they have gotten used to freshwater, thoughts?

not going to happen my interest and love for these fish is to great. guys to be honest i really think this fish would be best in fresh water as far as i can see it was raised in freshwater and has been living in freshwater for a long time i know its probably not meant to be in freshwater and i understand that there life span will be reduced by doing this but to be honest i just don't think they can cope with the change and i fear the wont make it if i convert them seems they have gotten used to freshwater, thoughts?

mudskippers are true brackish fish as it has been explained to you. you really should have researched the fish before you brought it.

i would have SLOWLY turned the water to brackish over a lenth of time with the weekly water changes. nmonks clearly knows what hes talking about.