Morgurnda Morgurnda

[the_evil_duboisi]

I found I can get some! So I'm considering them for my 30 gallon....But a few questions

1) How many could I keep in there?

2) Can they eat dried foods? If not, what could be a staple and healthy diet? TBH I don't really want to keep fish that don't eat pellets so I'm trying to figure out....

3) How should I decorate?

4) What could I keep with them? Could I keep the bandit cichlid, Guanacara(?) geayi and pearl gouramis with it?

I hope someone could help me. I love gobies. And at last, a larger goby, but one that doesn't get too large either!

 

[nmonks]

1) How many could I keep in there?

One; like all Eleotridae they are territorial, and you'd be pushing your luck to keep two adult males in a 30 gallon tank.

2) Can they eat dried foods? If not, what could be a staple and healthy diet? TBH I don't really want to keep fish that don't eat pellets so I'm trying to figure out....

I'm not aware of any member of the Eleotridae that takes dried foods. Live foods are preferred, at least initially, but frozen foods of all types will be consumed as well.

3) How should I decorate?

Eleotridae are stealth predators, and they all appreciate hiding places. Thick stands of large plants, hollow ornaments, bogwood roots etc are all good.

4) What could I keep with them? Could I keep the bandit cichlid, Guanacara(?) geayi and pearl gouramis with it?

I have kept large Eleotridae (specifically Dormitator maculatus) in brackish and saltwater tanks with a variety of tankmates include Central American cichlids, gar, groupers, catfish, etc. They ignore anything too big to be eaten whole.

Cheers, Neale

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Thanks! I might get one....But could you specify what to feed it? It would really be nice if they would eat Hikari sinking...

Are there any sufficiently convinient frozen fods that I could try? The only frozen stuff I have is bloodworms.

 

[Colin_T]

You could keep a pr in a 30gallon without any problems. I had 3 prs living in a 4ftx14inx14inch tank where they bred and most of the young grew up in the tank with the adults.

The males usually hang out in a cave, (I used clay flowerpots cut in half and lay on their side). The fish would hang out in their caves. The females would lay their eggs on the roof of the cave and the males would guard them until they hatch. Then the young are on their own. If you have lots of plants in the tank and the adults are well fed many of the fry will survive.

I fed mine on various sinking pellets and fresh prawn and fish. They have a preference for the fresh/frozen foods over dry foods and if they are wild caught they will probably ignore the pellets foods. Try them on a few pellets and see if they eat them. If they don't then just chop up some prawn or fish each day and feed them bits of that. Alternatively most petshops have frozen fish foods and you can buy Marine Mix and keep this in your freezer. Then just take out one or two cubes of this frozen food and feed it to the fish.

Purple spotted gudgeons (Mogurnda mogurnda) will get along with anything that doesn't fit in their mouth. I kept mine with rainbowfish and bigger barbs but they will be fine with anyone who doesn't attack them or doesn’t look like food.

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Thanks Colin! The fish are about 5cm long; is that young enough to learn to eat pellets?

I guess feeding the adults will be the largest obstacle, because I have plenty of brine shrimp that would sustain the fry.

But aren't frozen fish or shrimp lacking in some nutrients? Would it be healthy to feed such a diet without ill-effects?

 

[mikev]

Colin,

Can you be a bit more specific about what would fit in their mouth?

(I'm actually considering them too...probably a pair in a large community tank)

I'm guessing that anything less than 1" (like Boraras) would be a snack, but 1" fish (like Danios) would be ok. What about shrimp?

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

I think shrimp would be food. Small and crunchy.

Could weaning them onto sinking pellets be possible? If so, that's great, because they are very healthy for such predatory fish.....

 

[Colin_T]

Just offer them some pellets and see if they eat them. Some wild caught adults will eat pellets straight away whereas other never touch them. Just try it and see. They usually eat most things tho so if they don't eat the pellets one day, then try them the next and so on.

Danios & shrimp both get eaten by adult mogurnda and in fact most narrow fish up to a couple of inches long will get eaten by them. If you want 1 inch fish in their tank then try to get fish that are deep bodied like bleeding heart tetras. They will be less inclined to being eaten. Otherwise just keep them with fish that get to about 3-4inch and they shouldn't try to chomp them up. Adult Mogurnda mogurnda can eat 1 inch corydoras.

In the wild they eat fish and shrimp so they won't suffer from health issues due to nutrition. If they get fed a variety of food then they shouldn’t have any problems at all.

 

[mikev]

Thanks Colin,

So much for this idea.. I have something edible in every tank




Hmmm.... How about Goo-Obo? Same problems on a smaller scale?

 

[Colin_T]

lol, Just get another tank Mike and put the mogurndas in that
6 tiers high and the whole house is now full of fish

I have no idea what a Goo-Obo is

 

[mikev]

Too many tanks already, too many planned....not now

Goo-obo gudgeon == Mogurnda nesolepis. Allegedly milder..... No good first-hand info YET, but you can google for them, seems to be an interesting fish.

Too many tanks already, too many planned....not now

Goo-obo gudgeon == Mogurnda nesolepis. Allegedly milder..... No good first-hand info YET, but you can google for them, seems to be an interesting fish.

 

[Colin_T]

Mogurnda nesolepis looks like a nice little fish. It looks like a typical Mogurnda sp so should be just as easy to care for as the other species. However, it has the advantage of being small by comparison to the Australian species. It might be a better choice if you want to keep them in a community tank with small fishes

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Thanks! I'll call the shop first and check whether they feed well.

Also, a question about breeding. I heard they lay their eggs on a flat surface, apparently in the open. Does that mean they could be potensially easy prey for nighttime catfish?

 

[Colin_T]

Mine always bred inside a cave and they laid the eggs on the roof of the cave. I used ceramic flower pots that had been cut in half. Each half was put on the gravel creating a dome shaped cave. The males would hang out in these and breed with the females before guarding the eggs. It was quite amusing watching them upside down looking at you. I never had any problems with black lancer or eeltail catfish taking the eggs. The males are pretty good guardians so you don't normally lose any eggs. However, when the fry hatch and start swimming around the tank the other fishes might eat them.
If I really wanted a batch of fry I would take the flowerpot out and hatch and rear the fry in another container. Just keep the eggs underwater at all times and put an airstone near them in the hatching/ rearing tank. Don’t let the air bubbles touch the eggs and as soon as the fry hatch out reduce the aeration so they don’t get blown all over the container. Then start feeding them on infusoria or liquid fry food. Add newly hatched brineshrimp to their diet after a week.
The males don’t normally eat when they are guarding a nest.

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Thanks again! I called the shop and they said they are eating pellets and would probably eat any other foods. So all I need to do is redecorate my tank(No problem ) and order them.

Wish I could do it quick.....If I'm lucky, I can do it by next week

Again thanks for all the info. The one's I get will be about 5~6cm.