Peacock Gudgeons

[DreamertK]

 
They are just so adorable. The little man had been trying to entice the pudgy female into his cave. You know fish foreplay - the slippery cuddle, the swim away to catch her attention, the lunge and scare her, and the fin slap in her face. She wasn't having it for a day or two, and I was thinking I should probably get another female if they ended up not pairing up. She would follow him, but stop right at the entrance of the cave. But eventually both of them had dissapeared from the tank for a day. The next day I'd see her swimming erratically up and down the glass, and I didn't see my little man for about a week until a day ago. They were both cuddling together in a little crater they dug. I looked closer in the tank and...fry!

 
Enough of the words, this is a picture post!
 
I actually wanted to enter in FOTM, but then I chickened out.

  (Click for larger)
 

 

 
That's all for now!

 

[leighton_87]

Congratulations - keep us updated

 

[DreamertK]

Photos that didn't make the FOTM cut:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bullit]

cool fish

 

[DreamertK]

Thanks dude.

 

[the_lock_man]

Did any of the fry survive? AIUI, the males guard the eggs, but leave the fry to fend for themselves.
 
I have now set up my small tank as a bredding project for these gorgeous fish. All I need to do now, is buy a male......

 

[RCA]

Awesome, how many fry are there?
 
Are these in a tank of their own?
 
How long you had them?
 
Sorry so many questions ...

 

[DreamertK]

Well I had a bad run in the first time around. This time I'm going to do WC's every day, I swear to it! It's hard to gauge if they're actually eatting though, so I've got some microworms on the way. Whenever I dip the baby brines in, they just float off.
 
How many fry now: hard to say, at least 20. Maybe between 20-50.
 
I transferred the man cave into a breeders net in a different tank (20g previously used for gourami) and then captured the male to transfer back into the other tank with his mate (30g, current home of the gourami). Maybe it seems a bit strange, but I definitely don't trust the female with the fry as she devoured one of my baby shrimps, as well the 20g is more established and I can gauge better when NH3 levels are above 0ppm. I swear I tried to get him out of the man cave after a week and he wouldnt leave until at least a few of the fry hatched. Though it was pretty hilarious trying to put in some worms for him to snack on because the bottom of the man cave is so small and theres a bit of current in the net so the worms would float off too and escape. But when I got them in, he would bite at whatever I put in next.
 
I've had them...maybe two months.

 

[Becks1985]

They are beautiful fish were am I able to get fish like that??
I have tried a few places can't find them anywhere...
If you can help that would be great!!

 

[DreamertK]

If you ever come to the states, hopefully by the time you get here you could take some fry.

  I'm not too familiar with the stores in your area, though the internet may help finding breeders or stores that may have them.

 

[RCA]

I saw some of these in the LFS yesterday, but wanted to come and do more research before deciding whether to have any.  Although to be fair I am looking at what to put in my new tank once all the planting etc is complete, so not totally ready for them yet.  Did you say elsewhere they are a Goby, or is there two sorts?
 
Great news re: the number of fry you have, fins crossed they all make it for you

 

[DreamertK]

Most gobies are brackish, and this is a sleeper goby or not a true goby though most of these are brackish as well. They say that they will school, but if you were to take more than a pair I'd still suggest 1:3 ratio as a single female may be harassed to death by a male. I was worried when I first introduced them to this, as the male quickly claimed his cave and was trying to mate with a worried female. She wasn't willing at first, but after a couple days she found him fit. This particular fish is also a bottom dweller, though I do see the female hang out in the middle of the tank to bait me into giving her worms. They're particularly peaceful, and definitely don't compete for food. Though my female has been doing well to grab a few worms when she gets the chance, sometimes she can be finicky on what worms she'll eat. She refuses dry food, but will quickly become pronouncedly filled with eggs after 3-6 days of worm feedings. I'd say she was pretty intelligent, recognizing me and wanting my attention by displaying at the front of the tank. Right now she's observing the wood I have in the tank. But as well, sometimes the male will mess up and abandon the eggs, in which he has to wait a few more days for the female to plump up again. It's unfortunate I have an actual cave and can't witness their mating. I've heard others say that they really enjoy the tightest spaces possible, with my cave being his absolute favorite place.
 
Other basic facts:
3-5 years old
3" size
Tolerable to water conditions
Might attack shrimplets (otherwise peaceful)
 
Good luck on your decision, I hope I've provided enough info!

 

[DreamertK]

  

 

 

Thank you everyone of April's competition for your votes! There were so many entries I was on edge the entire month, but we pulled through!​

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For all of you, my little mama would like to thank you~​

 

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Yes I actually printed out the award picture, upsized it and held it up to the tank.

 

[the_lock_man]

I've heard others say that they really enjoy the tightest spaces possible,

 
I would definitely concur with this. I've provided mine with ½" bore plastic pipe, with the bottom 1/3 cut off, as caves, and they just squeeze their way in. I've been convinced that they've been stuck before.

 

[DreamertK]

Certainly claustrophillic (love small spaces). I kind of wish I had a pipe since then it would be easier to observe them, buuut I just have this weird cave decoration I got from petco that they like going in the leg of, which is quite a bit of room for their current size and even has a hole I can just feed my little man without other fish interfering.