The Peacock Gudgeon is an amazingly attractive, peaceful and unique freshwater fish.
Not only do they look amazing, but they are hardy and easy to look after, and they
get along with plenty of other species making them a great member of the community aquarium.
You can keep the Peacock Goby in small groups without any problems.
Of course, they will quarrel amongst themselves, but this is always limited to
flaring and displaying and makes for a more delightful extravaganza.
Ideal tankmates for Peacock Gobies could include Rainbowfish from the genus Pseudomugil,
Rasboras, Tetras, Corydoras Catfish, and other small peaceful species.
However, if you would like to keep them with slightly more territorial fish,
such as Dwarf Cichlids, you will need to make sure you provide plenty of tank space.
Peacock Gobies prefer soft and slightly acidic water and plenty of sheltered areas. It would
be best to use a dark substrate and floating vegetation as this will help your fish feel safer,
leading to a better display of colour. These Gudgeon require plenty of hiding places,
so adding driftwood or bogwood to the aquarium will be greatly appreciated, as would areas of
dense planting. Having hiding places in the aquarium will bring your fish out more often.
These fish do not do well in an aquarium with a fast water flow,
so it would be best to use gentle filtration. Also,
these fish fair better in spotless water, so make sure you perform frequent water changes.
Peacock Gudgeons are endemic to the eastern part of Papua
New Guinea in Oceania. However, you can also find them throughout Australia and New Zealand.
These fish inhabit soft and acidic waters in slow-moving lowland streams and rivers as well as
shallow still ponds that are warm and loaded with dense vegetation.
It can be very challenging to feed the peacock gudgeons as they are very picky eaters;
however, they occasionally take good quality dried
food but seem to prefer decapsulated brine shrimp and almost always prefer
live and frozen foods. Providing them with live foods such as bloodworm, daphnia,
and brine shrimp will help your fish maintain good health and colour and keep them happy.
It is relatively simple to distinguish between a male and female Peacock It is relatively simple to
distinguish between a male and female Peacock Goby. The males will be somewhat
more colourful and will develop a large nuchal hump on their foreheads
and will be slightly bigger than the females.
Peacock Gudgeons are relatively easy to breed.
These fish usually form a connection and create partners quickly.
If you have a group of fish, identify a couple and move them to a separate breeding tank.
The breeding tank will need to contain some caves or similar.
You can form an artificial cave with a simple PVC pipe or a terracotta pot.
To induce the breeding process, you will need to perform a profound water change
and provide your couple with a sufficient amount of protein-rich live and frozen food.
Then, when the males are ready to breed, they will display a dancing
ritual for the female swimming around the cave entrance and flash his pectoral fins.
If the female accepts him, she will swim into the cave and lay around 50 to 100 eggs.
After she has finished laying her eggs, she will leave.
The male will then take over; he will fertilise the eggs and care for them as they incubate.
You can see him fanning the eggs and defending the area frantically.
Once the fry is able to fend for themselves,
you can remove the male and female adult fish from the breeding tank.
Peacock Gudgeon fry grows relatively slowly. You will need to feed them with infusoria or
powdered food until they are big enough to eat baby brine shrimp or microworm.
It will take several weeks until they can swim freely,
so keep a careful eye out and implement a constant food supply to help them grow.
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