Peacock Gudgeon

Tateurndina ocellicauda

General information: It is a small member of the gudgeon family growing to approximately 7 cm. the males have a more pronounced forehead and females a more rounded body. Females sometimes have a black line on the outer margin of the anal fin. In their natural environment there is little known about the water quality of their streams and their natural diet. They are said to school over the substrate near the bottom. They are also reported to dart off into the vegetation at the sides of the streams when disturbed. The original imports into Australia were by Barry Crockford in 1983. All the fish in Australia were progeny of this importation until they were added to the allowable import list after an import risk assessment was completed by Aquagreen. The Aquarium Trade importers started to import hatchery bred specimens from Germany.

Cultivation notes : They are best kept in an aquarium about 60 cm or larger. The water quality can be soft or hard, temp between 22 to 28 deg C, pH from 6 to 8. They will eat a variety of prepared and frozen foods but should have some live foods such as daphnia, black worms or mozzie wrigglers once or twice a week. To breed this fish several pairs are placed in an quarium with plenty of hiding places. Soon a pair will select a spot, lay between 40 and 200 eggs attached to a hard surface where the male will guard the eggs until hatched. the parents can be left with the fry. They are mostly peaceful with very few bad habits. There has been the occasional report of these fish fin nipping smaller tank mates. They prefer the lower to mid water sections in the aquarium.

Distribution : It comes from a series of streams along the Eastern end of Papua New Guinea on the Northern side of the Owen Stanley Range.

Selling details : Sold individually at 2.5 centimetres total length.

Reference: Allen (1991) "Fresh Water Fishes of New Guinea" ANGFA web site Peacock Gudgeon report http://www.angfa.org.au/peacockrpt-final.html