Eleotris carpet / Peacock goby (Tateurndina ocellicauda) Nichols / Nichols, 1955
Family Eleotridae.
The Carpet Eleotris is the only species belonging to the genus Tateurndina and is not actually a goby, but a member of the family Eleotridae. This is one of the smallest and most attractive species of the family.
Range and Habitat
Papua New Guinea.
They inhabit low-lying streams, ponds and rivers mainly in the eastern part of the island. It is most often found in tropical forest ponds, where it swims in free schools.
Description
Eleotris (Tateurndina ocellicauda) is a very colorful little freshwater goby. The body is bluish-silver with pink, yellow and black markings along the body and fins.
Both sexes of this species are bright turquoise with many red broken lines and dots. They have two dorsal fins (the front one is shorter). The longer dorsal fin is the same size as the anal fin. The female has a black line along the edges of both her anal and dorsal fins. In contrast, the male has bright yellow edges.
Both sexes have a black spot at the base of the caudal fin (hence the name, Peacock goby). Although both have yellow bellies, the female has a more pronounced yellow color, especially when breeding. The most noticeable difference is the shape of their heads. The female has a pointed head, while the male has a hunchbacked head and a much stronger, angry-looking jaw. Sometimes, depending on the angle of view, the male's eye will reflect a red color. This is not observed in females.
Both males and females of this species are equally beautifully colored.
Size
Males grow to 6-7 cm, while females remain smaller, about 4-5 cm.
Red-black half-snout (dermogenys spp.)
There are more than a dozen very similar fish in the genus Dermogenys, most of them that are found on sale go under the name D. pusilla, but in fact no one distinguishes them from each other.
Body color varies from silvery-white to greenish-gray, and males may have spots of red, yellow, or black on their fins.
True, there are really many different variations of them, and one may be noticeably brighter than the other.
Males are aggressive towards each other, but in a spacious aquarium they avoid fights. An 80 liter aquarium is enough for three males and six females.
Half snouts require a varied diet, including live, plant and artificial foods.
Previously, half-snouts were considered a fish not suitable for keeping in a general aquarium, but this is not entirely true. Yes, they can compete with fish when feeding, but you can pick up catfish, acanthophthalmus and other bottom-dwelling fish.
By the way, they are very jumpy, so cover the aquarium!
Breeding is similar to other viviparous species, with the female giving birth to fry three to four weeks after mating. The fry are large, 4-5 mm, and can eat finely ground flakes, brine shrimp nauplii, microworms and even small daphnia. But, they are prone to infertility in adulthood.
Aquarists note that at first females give birth to 20 fry, then the number decreases and completely disappears. It is better to have several generations of Dermogenis living in the aquarium.
Half-snout
Behavior and Compatibility
The Carpet Eleotris (Tateurndina ocellicauda) lives in pairs or in a harem. If this latter option is preferred, a male with two or three females is recommended.
A bit territorial with its own species, but suitable for many aquarium communities of small, peaceful fish. Ideal neighbors include other species from Papua New Guinea, such as Popondetta sp.; Tetras, Rasboras, Corydoras and any other small peaceful species are also suitable. Make sure you provide enough space in the tank if you intend to keep it with other territorial species, such as dwarf cichlids.
Peacock gobies can be kept without problems in small groups with a predominance of females. They will quarrel among themselves, but this is almost always limited to an outburst of aggression, which makes them more interesting to watch than if you just had a couple.
General information
Carpet eleotris (Tateurndina ocellicauda) is a freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the pygmy family. This species is the only one in the genus. The homeland of the carpet eleotris is the island of New Guinea.
The second name for carpet eleotris is peacock goby.
With its body shape, the fish is very similar to a goby, for which it received its second name “peacock goby”, which also reflects its unusually variegated coloring, reminiscent of a painted pattern. However, these species have important differences; for example, the pectoral fins of Eleotris are not fused. The closest relative of this fish is the rotan firebrand, which is common in many rivers of our country. At the same time, Carpet Eleotris is unpretentious in terms of keeping conditions and has a peaceful character, which allows us to recommend it to beginning aquarists.
Aquarium
Aquarium size 45*30*30 cm - from 40 liters is perfect for a couple of adult fish.
Content
Eleotris carpet prefers soft, slightly acidic water and plenty of cover. Using a dark substrate and floating vegetation will help them feel more confident and show off their best colors.
They also need plenty of cover, so more submerged snags, rocks, and densely planted areas of aquatic vegetation are needed. Paradoxically, with this design they will be much more often invisible. In naked aquariums they tend to huddle around any available small cover and move around much less. Although they like very clean water, they will not feel comfortable if there is a lot of water movement in the tank. These gobies are also good jumpers, so make sure there are no gaps around the tank lid.
Water parameters:
Temperature: 22-27°C PH: 6.5-7.5 Hardness: 5-10°DH
A 20% water change should be done weekly.
Common Russian name "Carpet Eleotris"
Belongs to the order Perciformes, family Eleotris, or Goloveshkovyh (Eleotridae). The coloring is very beautiful - the whole body is covered with pink-red and blue stains, like an oriental carpet (hence the Russian name). The male has a rounded muzzle with a convex forehead and a flat abdomen; the size of the male is about 6 cm. The muzzle of the female is more elongated, the abdomen is convex; the size of the female is about 5 cm. The fish is a close relative of the Far Eastern “migrant” sleeper sleeper, which has now spread throughout European Russia. However, unlike the active predator of rotan, tateurndina is an absolutely peaceful fish that gets along well with any small fish and even livebearer fry.
The homeland of the carpet eleotris is the shallow rivers of the island of New Guinea, in which at the bottom there are a large number of stones and trees that have fallen into the water. All this forms many shelters and burrows, in each of which lives the owner - a male Eleotris. Females do not have a “home”, wandering between the shelters of males... These rivers of New Guinea constantly mix their waters with sea tides, so their water has a low salinity (about 3% o), a little hard (gH = 12–15) and slightly alkaline ( pH=7.2–7.5).
To keep tateurndin in an aquarium, it is enough to comply with the above conditions (t 22–24°). The current generation of eleotris practically does not need to add salt to the water. They are suitable for company with fish that require similar conditions of detention - small and medium-sized rainbowfish, zebrafish, small gobies and vivibearers. The aquarium must have shelters (according to the number of males - otherwise they will fight for possession of the “house”). It should be taken into account that the male, as a rule, chooses the tightest hole, into which sometimes he even has to squeeze sideways. Large flower pots will be ignored... It is also necessary to ensure that the filter used in the aquarium does not have holes large enough for the male Eleotris to crawl through - otherwise he will definitely climb there and die in the filter mechanism!
For spawning, fish (a pair or a male and two females) are placed in a spawning tank with a volume of 5 liters or more, with a low water level (preferably 20–25 cm). A very small flower pot placed on its side is placed there, or even better, a piece of plastic tube 7–8 cm long and no more than 3–4 cm in diameter sealed at one end. This will become a spawning nest and a “house” for future fry. Press a piece of Java moss to the bottom with a stone (so that the female or females can hide). The temperature is raised to 27°. The fish are fed small bloodworms or red daphnia. The lights should be on 24 hours a day...
After about a day, the male begins to chase the female and periodically dive into the “house”, as if examining it. In a male ready for spawning, the forehead becomes much more convex - so that the upper jaw even bends slightly. And in a “ripe” female, the abdomen becomes orange. The next day, the male begins, fluffing his fins, to dance in front of the female, periodically making “diving” movements with his head towards the pot (tube), inviting the female there. This could continue for another day. Finally, the female begins to run after the male, diving into the nest with him, more and more often, and finally the fish disappear in the nest for a long time. If you manage to carefully “peek”, you will see that the fish seem to “stick” together to the roof of the nest with their belly up, laying eggs. This continues for 3–4 hours. Then the male’s attitude towards the female becomes different - he aggressively rushes at her, driving her away from the nest. The female's abdomen becomes flat - all the eggs are laid (from 100 to 200 eggs)! Then the female should be carefully (if possible without disturbing the male) removed from the spawning area.
The remaining male almost never appears from the “house”, constantly crawling along the eggs glued to the “ceiling” with his belly up. In principle, you can remove the male the next day - but then the yield of larvae will be less. The development of eggs (and “incubation” of them by the male) lasts 4–5 days. For another 2 days the larvae hang on the ceiling and walls of the nest, then they begin to fall to the bottom and “fall out” of the nest. Then it’s better to remove the male. In the spawning tank, you need to install weak aeration, creating a light current, and reduce the water level to 10 cm. Within 24 hours, the larvae begin to swim. Then you can start giving them ciliates or gradually grind the Sulfur Micron food in water.
Sexual Dimorphism
The mature male is usually brighter (especially during the spawning period), develops a pronounced nuchal hump and is slightly larger than the female. Females have a yellowish color on the abdomen, which males do not have.
When the fish are younger, sex can be determined by looking at the anal fins. Most females have a dark border running the length of the outer edge of this fin, while most males do not.
Breeding
Peacock goby (Tateurndina ocellicauda) is easy to breed if the conditions are right. Fish usually spawn in caves, so providing them is very important. Short lengths of plastic tubing work well as they can be easily removed by capping each end. Bushes of live plants are also useful to provide additional cover for fish.
To get a breeding pair (breeders), it is best to buy a group of 6-8 young fish and let them mate naturally. Provide the group with good nutrition, live and frozen food, change 25% of the water weekly, and you will see spawning behavior in no time. When the fish are ready to spawn, the abdomen of the females will become noticeably rounded, and the males will be located at the entrances to the selected caves. Whenever the female approaches the male's cave, he will flutter and spread his fins in an attempt to lure her into the cave. Sometimes he even uses force, pushing the female in the direction of the cave entrance.
If the male is successful, the female will swim into the cave and lay 30 to 200 eggs there, usually on top. The eggs are attached with small adhesive threads. As soon as the female finishes laying, she is chased away by the male, who now assumes all responsibilities for caring for the laid eggs. As a rule, he almost constantly takes care of the eggs, fanning them with his fins so that the water around them is well saturated with oxygen. If you plan to raise the fry in the same tank, you may want to remove the other fish as they will eat the eggs if they can get to them.
The larvae hatch within approximately 24-48 hours, and from this moment the male completely stops caring for the brood. Now the fry need a separate aquarium or they will usually be eaten. They begin to swim freely within another 2-4 days and are very easy to feed, being large enough, they can immediately accept brine shrimp nauplii, microworms and so on.
Growth is relatively slow and by the month of life is from 1.5 to 2 cm, but the body is still transparent. The first sign of color formation is a dark eye-spot at the base of the tail (which gives the species its name - ocellicauda), which begins to be visible after 5-9 weeks of life. From three months, the color has already formed, like that of adult fish, but the color remains pale for a couple of months before reaching maturity.
The life expectancy of Eleotris Carpet / Peacock Goby (Tateurndina ocellicauda) is about 5 years.
Reproduction
For a beneficial pairing, and this is what reproduction is, it is highly desirable to move the couple into a separate aquarium, in which the fish felt alone and no one disturbed them. In such an aquarium there must be different shelters in which the female could conveniently lay eggs. If the female has an enlarged abdomen with a yellow color on it, then she is ready to spawn. It would be good if the temperature in the spawning aquarium was a couple of degrees higher than in general. During courtship, the fins on the abdomen change color: in the female they turn black, and in the male they become dark brown.
The female can lay from fifty to two hundred eggs, which have a diameter of about 1 millimeter. After this process, she should be evicted from a separate aquarium, since the father of the family takes care of the offspring. The male is a very responsible parent; he stays near the eggs all the time and moves his fins, thereby circulating oxygen to the future fry. Without even stopping to feed, he does this until the barely colored larvae appear.
After such a period, which lasts 6-10 days, the male should also be removed. After 2-4 days, the larvae turn into fry and begin exploring the area. Initially they feed on rotifers, ciliates and brine shrimp. The fry grow about 1 cm per month. Within a month, a darkish spot appears at the base of the caudal fin, and full adult color appears by 4 months. The readiness and possibility of reproduction occurs upon reaching 7 months.
FEEDING They prefer live food, frozen food is also suitable. They don’t like dry food, but they will eat it in the absence of live food.
BEHAVIOR Carpet eleotris are very sociable and can exist peacefully with other fish of any size. The beautifully colored fish are unpretentious and quite hardy, so they are suitable for both inexperienced and experienced aquarists. Eleotris have a calm disposition, but due to some lethargy they can remain hungry, which must be kept in mind when feeding.
TECHNICAL TIPS For a pair of Eleotris, a 10-liter aquarium equipped with a filter is sufficient. Comfortable temperature is 22-26 degrees. Weekly water changes are required.
