I remember when I was a child watching "Animal World", there was a magical fish that left a very deep impression on the author, this fish is not beautiful, the appearance is not gorgeous, but it has 99.9% of the ability of fish - can go ashore, can swim on the beach, run and jump, and even climb to the tree to feed, from that moment on, the name of this magical elf is deeply imprinted in the author's mind - mudskipper fish. But it was also at that moment that "seawater" blocked the author's desire to observe and raise this magical elf, until it was later discovered that some mudskippers can actually be raised with pure fresh water.
The author uses small mudskippers raised in seawater
Learn about mudskippers
Mudskipper (also known as mud monkey, stone sticker, jumping fish, scientific name: Periophthalmini), belongs to the goby order dorsal goby family dorsidae, is a highly specialized species in the dorsal eye goby family, its pectoral fin is thick and powerful, with a simple ability to drive the body, with a frog-like ability to use skin breathing, and can also dig mud burrows to avoid rabbit dryness.
Common mudskippers in China include: Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, Scartelaos histophorus, B. Bo's mudskippers (B. boddarti) and Cantonese mudskipper (Periophtalmus cantonensis).
Among them, although the large mudskipper, the green mudskipper and the Bo's large mudskipper can reach up to 20 cm, and the flesh is delicious, and has a beautiful brushed dorsal fin and spots, but the adaptability to land life is poor, can only stay on land for a short time, its diet is algae and small benthic animals, it is difficult to dilute the training, so it is not introduced. (It is said that the large mudskipper can also be diluted, the author bought several trial breeding in the early years, but they were unsuccessful)
Large mudskippers dotted all over the stars
Cantonese mudskipper, also known as small mudskipper, up to 10 cm, non-edible fish, its body color is mostly dark brown, scattered on both sides with dark spots, the base of the pectoral fin has a muscle handle, can support the movement of the fish body on land, the dorsal fin is reddish black, no brushing, the ventral fin is merged into a suction cup, there is a certain adsorption force, rough look and the common Ziling kiss shrimp tiger is quite similar.
It is mainly distributed in the northwest Pacific Region, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and china, mainly inhabiting seawater or near estuaries, often creeping or jumping on coastal mudflats at low tide, digging burrows, poor swimming power, carnivorous, and feeds on zooplankton and small benthic invertebrates.
How big is the tank for small mudskippers? What kind of environment?
The adult size of the small mudskipper is only about 10 cm, and the general market can buy more than 5, 6 cm, and the swimming ability is poor, so there is no need for a larger fish tank, but the fish has more demand for land activities, so it is better to need a fish tank with a length of at least 30 cm or more, and there is no requirement for the height of the fish tank.
Because the adaptability of small mudskippers to land life is extremely strong, so the requirements for water quality are extremely low, seawater, soda, fresh water can be adapted, but because of its poor swimming ability, it is necessary to have a larger land for its activities, and a thicker beach can be laid on the side of the fish tank (not recommended - the activity of mudskippers is stronger, the beach is easily messed up by mudskippers, and eventually it will be evenly distributed throughout the bottom of the tank, resulting in the need to re-lay the beach every 1-2 weeks), Or place a large stone in the tank that slopes downward on one side for the mudskipper to climb (recommended – simple and rough method).
Small mudskippers eat a large amount, so the fish tank needs to be equipped with a small filter to purify the water quality, the author recommends the use of a low water level filter. Common low water level filters on the market are generally three kinds: rain type, waterfall type and soap type, after personal testing by the author, rain shower type in the low water level filter, the water flow strength is too large, easy to lead to the bottom sand flow blockage; soap installation position is low, easy to block; waterfall type although it is also easy to block, but the installation position can be slightly increased to prevent blockage, specifically according to its own cylinder layout, the ability to use small water pump + filter tank diy, to obtain better results.
The author uses a large tidying box to raise mudskippers, with only a very shallow layer of bottom sand at the bottom (caused by inertial thinking, now thinking that it may be possible to remove all the bottom sand), placing large inclined stones (in fact, the stone is not inclined, the small mudskipper can easily climb up, the inclined stone helps the small mudskipper to find feed), and the filter uses a large low-water level filter.
The environment for raising small mudskippers is very simple, requiring only large inclined stones
Online shopping for mudskippers and daily management
Because when shopping for mudskippers online, most of the sellers in order to reduce weight, so the seawater contained in the packaging is very small, the author bought a new mudskipper this year, when the seawater in the bag was less than a bunch, and the smell was not smelly, had to rush to the beach immediately after receiving the fish to pour a bottle of seawater emergency. Therefore, mainland friends can go to the local fish shop that sells seawater ornamental fish to buy some sea salt to configure seawater before buying mudskippers, and then gradually desalinate it. When opening the tank, it is not necessary to pay attention to the specific gravity of seawater, and the adaptability of mudskippers to salinity is very broad.
When shopping for mudskipper fish online, try to choose the smaller individual, because the life of the small mudskipper is shorter, the small individual can get a longer life, and the oxygen consumption during transportation is small, and it is not easy to die due to lack of oxygen.
The desalination of mudskippers is very simple, gradually adding some fresh water each time the water is changed, and finally being reared completely tap water.
In fact, mudskippers can directly adapt to tap water, the author at the beginning of the year had unrealistically conceived of a freshwater, soda, seawater, reptile mixed tank, but in practice found that due to the cylinder is too small and lead to poor operability, so abandoned, but in the meantime found that the original placed in pure seawater small mudskipper often "escaped" to pure freshwater waters, there is no discomfort. However, for safety reasons, it is best to use a gradual reduction of salt content to dilute. Previously, when I was in an inland city, I used tap water to raise mudskippers for 2 years, and then released the fish due to relocation to coastal cities, but now because I have the passive opening and hanging skills of "infinite seawater", I try to use seawater breeding to compare.
In terms of daily management, because most of the life time of small mudskippers is on land, even in the fish tank, it is more lying on the stone, on the beach or sucking on the tank wall, so the water quality requirements are low, and the water can be changed once a week.
What do small mudskippers eat?
Small mudskippers are carnivorous fish, but dry feed is also acceptable after a short period of training. Generally speaking, in the first 2 days of mudskippers entering the tank, they may refuse to eat because they are not adapted to the environment, but after becoming familiar with the environment, their appetite will increase greatly. The mudskippers raised by the author generally feed on frostbite worms, while feeding bread worms, shrimp skins, etc., and have also used more feed when feeding in inland cities before, but due to the strong activity of mudskippers, the feed that falls into the water is often not eaten, which is easy to lead to mixed water, so it is no longer used.
Small mudskippers that prey on bread worms
It is important to note that when feeding small mudskippers, food is placed on the shore, not in the water.
The swimming ability of small mudskippers is poor, on the contrary, the ability to move on land is very strong, so its predation is mostly land-based, which is also very chic and interesting, after all, although some fish have the ability to land, but there are not many fish that like to eat on land, which is of great ornamental value. When your mudskipper is fully adapted to the environment, you can try to feed it directly with food in your hands, and the mudskipper will even jump to your hand to eat, which is very interesting.
Can small mudskippers be polycultured?
According to the author's personal testing, small mudskipper is not suitable for polyculture. Although the appearance of the fish is very cute and cute, but in fact it is a full carnivore, the author has tried to polyculture of oxtail fish seedlings, Ziling kissing goby, small crabs, seawater flounder, etc., all of which ended in failure, and all the polyculture fish ended up being bitten or eaten by small mudskippers.
Although small mudskippers can be polycultured among the same species, it is necessary to pay attention to the difference in size, and the large individual is likely to bite the small individual to death and eat it, and it is necessary to feed more food to prevent it.
Disease and prevention of small mudskippers
Because the online shopping of small mudskippers are wild fish, so it is easy to have risks such as diseases, but the fish is more adaptable, so the general mortality rate is low, the author previously raised in inland cities and the new purchases this year, almost none of them died because of disease, but some of the mudskippers are too weak in shape, need to use internal medicine to do insect treatment, otherwise it is easy to die violently over time.
More causes of death of small mudskippers are the following 2 points:
1. Jumping tank; small mudskipper jumping ability is very strong, and good at climbing, if the fish tank does not have a cylinder head, or there is no fully covered rib above, the small mudskipper is very easy to climb out, and eventually the body is covered with dust, hair and die.
2. Summer feeding is less leading to mutual cannibalism; in the hot summer, the metabolism of small mudskippers increases, easy to hunger, so it must be fed every day, and ensure that each fish can eat food, otherwise it is very likely that mutual cannibalism will lead to death (the author personally tested, summer feeding every 2 days is not allowed, it will still lead to carnage and death). Ensuring that every fish can eat food is very simple for raising small mudskippers, you can use a toothpick to pick up the frostbite worm in front of the small mudskipper, and the fish that are already familiar with the environment will immediately pounce on it. In spring and autumn, it can be fed every 2 days.
What are the temperature requirements for small mudskippers? How is winter managed?
Although it is a domestic native fish, it is native to the south, so it should not be less than 10 degrees in winter. When I was in an inland city, I tried to keep the tidying box for small mudskippers indoors without heating, and after freezing one to death, I switched to using the 8W heating pad of the keeper to stick to the outside of the fish tank, and finally successfully survived the winter. If there is heating in the northern area, it can be heated without heating.
During the winter, if the water temperature is increased to a higher temperature without using a heating rod, the small mudskipper basically does not eat and does not move, so the water change can be greatly reduced, and it is not necessary to feed (of course, if the fish has a clear desire to eat, it can still be fed), and the fish can be fed as much as possible in the autumn.
summary:
In general, the small mudskipper is a very interesting and worth raising, observing small fish, and the difficulty of raising is very low, if it is cooked, it can have more interaction with the owner, and its habits are not comparable to ordinary fish, such as rubbing the face with pectoral fins, rolling and other interesting actions.
Finally, an interesting "examination", what is the "rushing Erba" in the CCTV version of "Journey to the West"? As we all know, the mouth shape of the fish largely represents the species to which it belongs, although the "Journey to the West" says that "Ben Bo Er Ba" and "Ba Bo Er Ben" are catfish monsters and black fish essences respectively, but according to their mouth shape and "can be landed" attributes, it is undoubtedly a small mudskipper.