Mudskippers

[J@son]

hey all

I have a old 35L or 8gallon fish tank, and would love to set it up into a mudskipper tank!

Can you keep mudskipper in freshwater? do u need any special equipment? lighting? is the tank big enough? plants? enough land?

any info will be great as there's not much on the internet.

the mudskipper in IFS are indian I thinks?

thx

here's a few pics of the tank I've set up so far ?

 

[MBOU]

Tanks not big enough i dont think, i guess it depends on species but as far as im aware, they get big, are incredibly predatory and are brackish, not freshwater.

Your best port of call is to speak to member on here called Neale Monks, generally on the brackish section!

 

[nmonks]

I have a old 35L or 8gallon fish tank, and would love to set it up into a mudskipper tank!

This is rather small for mudskippers, and even Indian Dwarf Mudskippers really need more space than this. Would be fine for other small gobies though, such as Desert Gobies, which are just as much fun.

Can you keep mudskipper in freshwater?

Absolutely not. This has been tried -- literally -- to death under laboratory conditions. Without fail, the mudskippers die eventually. They are brackish/marine fish and should be kept that way; SG 1.005-1.010 is fine for the traded species.

do u need any special equipment? lighting? is the tank big enough? plants? enough land?

They aren't difficult to keep at all, except that they will escape from any aquarium that isn't 100% secure. Look at what people set up for turtles and amphibians, and you're after the same thing. They only need a couple inches water, enough to cover themselves, so you only need a very basic filter, like a sponge filter or perhaps a small external canister filter if you want to keep things tidy. The heater must have a heater guard on it (if you use a standard in-tank heater as opposed to an undertank heating mat). No real need for lighting, since you'll be using fake plants and bogwood roots.

any info will be great as there's not much on the internet.

There's enough to get you going on my Brackish FAQ, and my book has a very long and detailed chapter by one of best-known mudskipper keepers in the hobby, Richard Mleczko.

Cheers, Neale

 

[MBOU]

Jeeez Neal, do you have something that flags posts when your name is mentioned? that was really fast! lol

Neale's Brackish FAQ is an awesome read! Well worth it! (link is in his signature!)

 

[nmonks]

I wish! I check out the RSS feed every once in a while, and if there's a good topic, I dip in. Good timing in this case; that's all!

Cheers, Neale

Jeeez Neal, do you have something that flags posts when your name is mentioned? that was really fast! lol

 

[J@son]

thx for the reply's

Is there a correct way to add salt to aquarium to make it brackish ??

 

[ZoddyZod]

if you want some inspiration, check out the journal below.....fantastic mudskipper setup.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/359601-my-mudskipper-paludarium/

 

[Hassell]

I am really interested in the comments here. During the 1970's I went to a school in Oxfordshire (UK). There were wetlands nearby covered in undergrowth. I personally saw what I believed to be mudskippers regularly (all the boys called them that anyway). They looked identical to the pictures you see on the internet. I therefore cannot understand why it is understood that they live in salt water alone. A genuine question because I can't connect what we saw with the comments here. Thanks.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

It is my understanding that they come from west africa in boggy climates, so its unlikely you saw one in Oxford, unless it had recently escaped!

 

[maurizio]

It is my understanding that they come from west africa in boggy climates

...or from same environments in South East Asia, North America and Australia. The only tropical area where they are not present is South America.

 

[fluttermoth]

I've never heard of mudskippers being found in the wild in the UK. What could Hassell have been seeing? Newts?

 

[Hassell]

Thank you all for your responses. You've confirmed what I thought. I remember clearly seeing these (quite a few) and they were exactly like the pictures you see on the internet - frog like head, two flippers at the front, no rear legs, a long tail and skipping using their front legs. I have made contact with the Natural History Museum and have voluteered to take them to the site. Let's see what happens. I will update if anything comes of this. Thanks again.

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, do let us know what transpires, it would be fascinating to find out what they were!

 

[maurizio]

looking forward to hearing about this. And hopefully the site is still in the same conditions of the 70s, otherwise... goodbye, periophtalmus borealis!

 

[Hassell]

I can update as follows; The Natural History Museum say that they will not have been Mudskippers but have understandably asked me to provide a photograph for identification.
Whilst I live some considerable distance from this site (disclosed to them), I am going along to see whether some 40 years later they are still there!
I am baffled and somewhat excited! I will let you know what I find.