20 long or 20 tall? For peacock gudgeons

[TeeJay]

Hey fellow nerms. I'm going to be getting some peacock gudgeons one day in the not to distant future. My plan is to do a 20 gallon for them. It will most likely be a species only tank with perhaps some mystery or nerite snails. The question is would they fuse better in a 20 long or 20 tall tank?. It seems like the long is the better choice but I just don't want to go by Google search only. Anyone with experience would be awsome.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I keep a pair in my 29 and they do great for me there. But, that’s just one pair and not a group. I could see more ground/cave space being important if you have multiple pairs or a group. Hopefully someone who had kept a group chimes in! They’ve been great for me in my experience with them. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:49 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I keep a pair in my 29 and they do great for me there. But, that’s just one pair and not a group. I could see more ground/cave space being important if you have multiple pairs or a group. Hopefully someone who had kept a group chimes in! They’ve been great for me in my experience with them. 

Right what I have found suggests they "typically"are more bottom dwelling. I'm thinking a group of 6 like 2 males and 4 females to hopefully keep down any potential aggression. Plenty of plants some mopani wood and a slate cave or 2 is what I'm thinking.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

For sure. They might be more “typically” bottom dwelling, but I see mine all over the tank. The male will go up against the Praecox Rainbows for the couple bloodworms I drop in there. They’re fun little fish. 

[Theplatymaster]

@TeeJay here is my opinion:

For a species only setup do the 20long to give them more room.

However if you are adding something like Endlers as dithers, do the high so that the endlers can have the top level and the gudgeons can have the bottom.

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:55 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@TeeJay here is my opinion:

For a species only setup do the 20long to give them more room.

However if you are adding something like Endlers as dithers, do the high so that the endlers can have the top level and the gudgeons can have the bottom.

Yes I highly doubt I would ever add any other fish only snails. I hope to get more natural behavior out of them that way.

On 2/11/2023 at 8:53 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

For sure. They might be more “typically” bottom dwelling, but I see mine all over the tank. The male will go up against the Praecox Rainbows for the couple bloodworms I drop in there. They’re fun little fish. 

I mean it will be there tank only so they can have the whole tank to explore. Have you ever had any issues with yours eating prepared foods or do the pretty much eat live and frozen foods?

[anitstuk]

On 2/12/2023 at 12:46 PM, TeeJay said:

Hey fellow nerms. I'm going to be getting some peacock gudgeons one day in the not to distant future. My plan is to do a 20 gallon for them. It will most likely be a species only tank with perhaps some mystery or nerite snails. The question is would they fuse better in a 20 long or 20 tall tank?. It seems like the long is the better choice but I just don't want to go by Google search only. Anyone with experience would be awsome.

I'm also thinking about getting some peacock gudgeons in the near future from an experienced friend of mine and he recommended a 20 gal long. I think they like the bottom more so a bigger bottom and lots of plants should be pretty comfortable for them. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:17 PM, anitstuk said:

I'm also thinking about getting some peacock gudgeons in the near future from an experienced friend of mine and he recommended a 20 gal long. I think they like the bottom more so a bigger bottom and lots of plants should be pretty comfortable for them. 

Yes I feel like that is what I'm leaning more too. And much nice to work in as well without feeling like you have to climb into the tank lol

[lewk]

I keep a trio in a 10 gallon. I know this is below what some recommend, but it has done really well for me. I have a male and two females. The male spends a good amount of his time in a pleco cave and each female seems to have her own half of the tank.

I personally would lean towards a 20 long - I would say that 90% of the time all the peacock gudgeons are in the bottom 1/3 of the tank. I have a variety of different floating plants to help make them feel comfortable higher up, but they really just don't seem interested. That other 10% of the time a female might choose to perch at the top, but that's definitely the exception. 

In terms of food, mine eat both baby brine and flake food without any issues. 

I personally would not hesitate to add another type of nano fish if you wanted. I have some ember tetras with mine and their introduction actually seemed to make the gudgeons more comfortable. I would describe them as assertive but not aggressive when dealing with other fish. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:25 PM, lewk said:

I keep a trio in a 10 gallon. I know this is below what some recommend, but it has done really well for me. I have a male and two females. The male spends a good amount of his time in a pleco cave and each female seems to have her own half of the tank.

I personally would lean towards a 20 long - I would say that 90% of the time all the peacock gudgeons are in the bottom 1/3 of the tank. I have a variety of different floating plants to help make them feel comfortable higher up, but they really just don't seem interested. That other 10% of the time a female might choose to perch at the top, but that's definitely the exception. 

In terms of food, mine eat both baby brine and flake food without any issues. 

I personally would not hesitate to add another type of nano fish if you wanted. I have some ember tetras with mine and their introduction actually seemed to make the gudgeons more comfortable. I would describe them as assertive but not aggressive when dealing with other fish. 

Awesome feedback. That's the kind of info that's is very helpful. Maybe down the road add another little group of something else. I say nothing is ever out of the question.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:02 PM, TeeJay said:

Have you ever had any issues with yours eating prepared foods or do the pretty much eat live and frozen foods?

This tank gets Krill flake in the morning, and then at night it gets a pinch of Krill flake, a pinch of Xtreme nano pellets, a shot of frozen baby brine shrimp, and then a few bloodworms. The tank also houses Marbled Hatchetfish, the Praecox Rainbows, the Gudgeons, Glowlight Tetras, and Albino Cory’s. I make sure there’s food at all levels of the tank so everyone gets to eat. No issues at all on my end. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:37 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

This tank gets Krill flake in the morning, and then at night it gets a pinch of Krill flake, a pinch of Xtreme nano pellets, a shot of frozen baby brine shrimp, and then a few bloodworms. The tank also houses Marbled Hatchetfish, the Praecox Rainbows, the Gudgeons, Glowlight Tetras, and Albino Cory’s. I make sure there’s food at all levels of the tank so everyone gets to eat. No issues at all on my end. 

Great and I know who I will be getting them from feeds a varied diet so I'm not overly concerned on not getting them to eat. I always have flake pellets and frozen on hand as well as 6 types of repashy. And live bbs will be added soon. And I figure I can make my own frozen bbs when I start hatching my own 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:45 PM, TeeJay said:

And I figure I can make my own frozen bbs when I start hatching my own 

That’s exactly what I do. I hatch 1 tablespoon of eggs once per week, freeze the majority of it, and then what’s leftover gets fed live. Then, throughout the week I use all the frozen until I need to hatch again. Works like a charm for me. 

Harvesting

Total hatch after harvest 

What gets frozen and used throughout the week  

The leftovers that get fed live 

Edited February 12, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:48 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

That’s exactly what I do. I hatch 1 tablespoon of eggs once per week, freeze the majority of it, and then what’s leftover gets fed live. Then, throughout the week I use all the frozen until I need to hatch again. Works like a charm for me. 

Harvesting

Total hatch after harvest 

What gets frozen and used throughout the week  

The leftovers that get fed live 

What size silicone tray is the 1/2x1/2 cubes? And I still need that materials list for your hatchery holder lol

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:53 PM, TeeJay said:

What size silicone tray is the 1/2x1/2 cubes? And I still need that materials list for your hatchery holder lol

I’m not sure what size this silicone tray is. Got it off Amazon like 3 years ago at this point. 
 

For the hatchery, I listed the supplies and the steps to build it. I believe it was on the “show off your brine shrimp hatchery” thread that someone else started. If you search that name you’ll find the thread and all the parts and instructions!

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:56 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’m not sure what size this silicone tray is. Got it off Amazon like 3 years ago at this point. 
 

For the hatchery, I listed the supplies and the steps to build it. I believe it was on the “show off your brine shrimp hatchery” thread that someone else started. If you search that name you’ll find the thread and all the parts and instructions!

Nice I just went back and found it. Made sure to take screenshots so I don't forget or have to search to find it again. Seems like the 20 long is going to be the best choice for what I'm doing. And it's going to work well for the pleco breeding I'm going to try my hand at with that tank first. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:18 PM, TeeJay said:

And it's going to work well for the pleco breeding I'm going to try my hand at with that tank first. 

Nice. If you run into any trouble with the stand just holler! Happy to help!

 

What kind of Pleco? I’m raising my first batch of Bristlenose and they’ve been fun. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:21 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Nice. If you run into any trouble with the stand just holler! Happy to help!

 

What kind of Pleco? I’m raising my first batch of Bristlenose and they’ve been fun. 

Lemon bristlenose. I still have a few months before my female will be ready to breed. So just getting everything ready and setup for when the time comes. I'm thinking mid to late summer.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@TeeJay Heck ya. I bought my Bristlenose a while back and was shocked how quickly they became mature enough to breed. I was not expecting it whatsoever. I also got super lucky in that I bought 2 juveniles and happened to get a male and female. 
 

I noticed the male was in his cave more often but thought nothing of it as I thought they were way too young to breed. I finally flashed my phone light in there and saw a clutch of eggs! I grabbed my Ziss Tumbler, threw the clutch in there, and then literally 10 minutes later I had separated wigglers. Timing literally could not have been more perfect. I was shocked.

Edited February 12, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/11/2023 at 5:52 PM, TeeJay said:

Right what I have found suggests they "typically"are more bottom dwelling. I'm thinking a group of 6 like 2 males and 4 females to hopefully keep down any potential aggression. Plenty of plants some mopani wood and a slate cave or 2 is what I'm thinking.

Anything bottom-mid dwelling for me would typically "do better" in a 20L vs. a 20H simply because it makes it easier to create more cover for them.  In general, I think fish want swimming space across an area.  Tall helps to create division, but it might not (maybe never) create the environment where you have fish preferring to swim up or down as apposed to back and forth. 

Physcially I think this is just due to pressure, lateral line readings.  Similar to how we perceive a fish that is at the wrong spot in the water or laying on the ground as having an issue, if one was swimming up/down a lot we would view it as stressed.

I've only ever come across one instance where I wasn't happy with a tank selection for a fish, the 55G with the RTBS.  My issue was that while the fish could swim across, there wasn't enough space front to back to let the fish swim and turn around easily.  Even when she was going up/down the glass it was just this weird situation where I wanted her to have "more room". 

Hopefully that helps.  I think you're on the right path with the 20L and the above recommendations.

[TeeJay]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:40 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Anything bottom-mid dwelling for me would typically "do better" in a 20L vs. a 20H simply because it makes it easier to create more cover for them.  In general, I think fish want swimming space across an area.  Tall helps to create division, but it might not (maybe never) create the environment where you have fish preferring to swim up or down as apposed to back and forth. 

Physcially I think this is just due to pressure, lateral line readings.  Similar to how we perceive a fish that is at the wrong spot in the water or laying on the ground as having an issue, if one was swimming up/down a lot we would view it as stressed.

I've only ever come across one instance where I wasn't happy with a tank selection for a fish, the 55G with the RTBS.  My issue was that while the fish could swim across, there wasn't enough space front to back to let the fish swim and turn around easily.  Even when she was going up/down the glass it was just this weird situation where I wanted her to have "more room". 

Hopefully that helps.  I think you're on the right path with the 20L and the above recommendations.

And more floor space for plants wood and caves. You know me I like my jungle style looking tanks with lots of plants. 

[egruttum]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:02 PM, TeeJay said:

Have you ever had any issues with yours eating prepared foods

My peacock gudgeons eat Hikari mirco pellets and do well.  When I want them to breed I put in a 3/4" PVC pipe capped on one end for them to lay eggs in.  I have to take it out most of the time to prevent the male from always sitting on eggs and not getting to eat.

[TeeJay]

On 2/12/2023 at 12:36 PM, egruttum said:

My peacock gudgeons eat Hikari mirco pellets and do well.  When I want them to breed I put in a 3/4" PVC pipe capped on one end for them to lay eggs in.  I have to take it out most of the time to prevent the male from always sitting on eggs and not getting to eat.

Nice I always have those on hand. Yes I thought about a couple of pleco caves if I wanted to try breeding them.