My Male Mudskipper

[pufferpuggirl]

Hi, well I finally got some photos of my Mudskipper. I wasn't able to get any of both of them, the female was hiding under the water.

I took this photo when I was about to clean their tank. Normally he goes and hides too, but this time he surprised me and stayed out of the water and in a position where I could get a decent photo.

I've had him now about 4 months, had her a couple weeks longer. She is much smaller than he is, but they are both lovely to me!

[julianchan]

haha...awesome! I remember seeing hundreds and hundreds of these near the beach/swamps where I grew up. Always did love em....

[pufferpuggirl]

I have to ask -- where did you grow up to see so many Mudskippers? I would love to see them in the wild.

I do feel sorry for mine in that they are stuck in a little box. I'm sure we don't see the true nature of how they really are, but I'm very happy that I've gotten to enjoy them.

We seen them at the LFS and we decided we were going to get a couple (I only wanted one at first, but the man at the LFS said he preferred me to take two, so I did), and I knew absolutely nothing about them, and there really isn't very much information on the internet about them. I bought the Neale Monks book and that's probably the most information I've seen collectively on them. But I think it's through trial and error that you succeed, thankfully there hasn't been too much error in my case.

[recombinantrider]

They are so cute! Well, I know nothing about them, and don't know where you can find more resources about caring for these animals....

[julianchan]

Oh, I grew up in Malaysia, in Sarawak, the island of Borneo. They are mostly by the swamps....they just kinda follow the tide in and out....hanging out where the sand is wet. Munching on whatever they munch on. Bugs mostly from what i remember, but maybe my memory is faulty...it was quite a while ago.

[pufferpuggirl]

I know and it still freaks me out to think that they are a fish, they certainly don't behave like one.

I think I'm doing really well with not having any previous experience with these guys. They appear to be healthy and active, so I guess I'm doing all the right things.

It's funny because I've read that the species that I have, Periopthalmus barbarus, is supposed to be extremely aggressive and I've even read that they will kill their tankmates .... No hostility here, no fighting and certainly no killing! I will concede that I think there's a little bullying, or rather, was -- because the female used to stay under water most of the time, which is very unlike what they want to do -- but I think they've come to an agreement because now I see her on land much more.

[pufferpuggirl]

Sounds very cool Julian. I feed mine shrimp, the nice meaty plump part.

[julianchan]

Well, maybe mudskippers are darwins evolution before our eyes....are they trying to get back into the water...or out of it? or are they just confused.....

[recombinantrider]

"just confused" hahaha

[Dadof4]

What are the tank requirements for a mudskipper?

[pufferpuggirl]

You need to provide them with land as well as water. Mine have half a sandy area where they can hang out, and it also has a water part, only about 5-inches deep, brackish water. They spend most of their time out of the water, but like to hang their tails in the water.
It's also very important to keep up the humidity. If the air temperature gets too cold, they will go dormant. They need very warm water, and very warm air. I have an alarm installed on my tank that goes off if the tank gets too cold, or too hot.
Mine sit on the filter, and the heater (make sure your heater has a plastic cover so they don't get burned). And make sure they can get out of the water easily. Strangely enough, Mudskippers are the only fish that can actually drown!
They are amazing creatures, that's for certain. I have fallen in love with mine though and would not go without them.

[recombinantrider]

Very interesting requirements. Strange is good in this case. I didn't know they could drown.

[julianchan]

Strangely enough, Mudskippers are the only fish that can actually drown!

I knew it! They ARE confused......

[j_wishbone]

Awesome stuff

I only ever see the dwarf versions here in australia...

and I agree with you.. this creatures are by far one of the interesting ones Ive kept...

my muddies are as attached below!

[Iliveinazoo]

We've got 2 male Barbarus Skippers - you were really lucky to get a female.
Don't think about keeping fiddler crabs with them, mine lived peacefully for a couple of months before the attacks started - so had to buy another tank!!
Keeping mudskippers peacefull with each other seems to be a mix of the right amount of land and depth of water. We thought that we could keep them both in a 3/4 filled tank with archer fish but the bigger skipper attacked the smaller skipper so often that the smaller one only ever came out of the water to breathe before getting chased straight back under.
They are now both together again in a dedicated tank with about 4 inches of water and a few seperate land areas and visual breaks and they're doing great.

Our tank has a door at the front and they get so excited at feeding time that they jump at the food as it's going in - we've had 2 escapes that way - chasing a mudskipper around the bedroom while shouting at the dogs with only 5 minutes to spare before you have to leave for work is not fun!