Peacock Goby/gudgeon

[dwarfgourami]

Have been reading up on peacock gobies for the last few days, as part of my planning for the upgrade/reshuffling of my tanks. Would have a mature tank to offer, but haven't got RO, and though the water is less hard as the tank has matured+liberal amounts of bogwood, yet there is no way you could describe my Southampton water as soft and acid.
So what is your opinion, folks? Has anyone successfully kept peacock gobies in hard water? Or had this better remain a beautiful dream?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Bump

 

[lucky62]

how hard is the water ?

I keep mine in water with Ph of near 7.0 , my water is moderately hard .

The very first one I bought came out of a tank with African cichlids [lfs ] he didn't look too good , not sure if it was the hardness of the water or the stress from being with such busy fish [ he was the only one ]
He died by getting stuck in some java moss and suffocating [ this what I believe ].

I've read they have lived happily for various people in water with PH values from 6.5 to 7.5 , just no sudden changes .

Mine have bred in my water , and I've even raised a small number of fry , 3 to be exact , I will try again .


they don't seem to be picky about water parameters , and should adjust , they will do much better in clean water [ regular water changes , just like any fish ] a must .........good luck

 

[dwarfgourami]

hmmm...so hard to read those colours by artificial light, will try again in the daylight tomorrow. I'd make a guess at 7.8 though, so it is pretty high.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Thanks for your help, that sounds encouraging. been doing a bit of googling on my own, too, and came across this guy who claims to have bred them in a ph of 8. So I think I will give them a try, once I get more tank space to play around with.

 

[lucky62]

I would suggest keeping a group rather than a pair , hopefully more females than males or at least 50/50 [ 5 to 7 ......depends on cost ] .

I've never kept just a pair , but if you search this site you'll another members experience of keeping a male / female pair ........as well as more info

and like many fish do , they jump , esp when recently introduced to a new home ..............a good lid can help .

well I hope you find a place for them .

 

[dwarfgourami]

I would suggest keeping a group rather than a pair , hopefully more females than males or at least 50/50 [ 5 to 7 ......depends on cost ] .

I've never kept just a pair , but if you search this site you'll another members experience of keeping a male / female pair ........as well as more info

and like many fish do , they jump , esp when recently introduced to a new home ..............a good lid can help .

well I hope you find a place for them .

Was thinking in terms of a trio (2 females, 1 male), do you think this is ok, or should I aim at a larger group? The whole thing is still at the planning stage, so in a sense space is not an issue, as I can always decide to leave out something else.

 

[lucky62]

I would suggest keeping a group rather than a pair , hopefully more females than males or at least 50/50 [ 5 to 7 ......depends on cost ] .

I've never kept just a pair , but if you search this site you'll another members experience of keeping a male / female pair ........as well as more info

and like many fish do , they jump , esp when recently introduced to a new home ..............a good lid can help .

well I hope you find a place for them .

Was thinking in terms of a trio (2 females, 1 male), do you think this is ok, or should I aim at a larger group? The whole thing is still at the planning stage, so in a sense space is not an issue, as I can always decide to leave out something else.

that would probably work , I myself would go for at least 5 [ the more the merrier , to displace any aggression ] , you could easily fit them in a 24 or 30" tank , IMO .
Remember to add small caves [ a few for each male , they can easily be covered up ] , I use 3/4 or 1" tubing cut to 2 or 3" lengths for the males to use as caves for spawning [ easier to remove the eggs this way ], really though , it is my understanding they'll breed where ever they can .

live plants are a plus as well .

 

[dwarfgourami]

Cheers! I'll definitely do planted and lots of caves. Do you think they'd be happier in the smaller tank than in a bigger (62 gals with peaceful tankmates)? I could do them a 15 gal on their own, or a 19 gal sharing with cories. Are they maybe too much down the bottom to like the cories for company? Would they be best in a species tank?

 

[lucky62]

I think they'd be happy either way ?

if you were inclined to have them breed the smaller setup might work better .


goo luck .

 

[dwarfgourami]

I think they'd be happy either way ?

if you were inclined to have them breed the smaller setup might work better .


goo luck .

Thanks for all your help! I can't wait to get going!

 

[lucky62]

I think they'd be happy either way ?

if you were inclined to have them breed the smaller setup might work better .


goo luck .

Thanks for all your help! I can't wait to get going!

no problem , glad to help if I can