New to Peacock Gudgeons

[Gamegurl]

Howdy peoples,

After some thought I decided to try some Peacock Gudgeons.

They are a cool little fish. I added 6 to my 29 gallon tank. The only other residents right now are some Cory's and a couple Nerite snails. They were unable to sex the fish before shipping and it looks like possibly 3 of each.

My main question is about the males. I see these feisty little buggers flaring and circling each other but since it's only been 3 days I figure they are just figuring out territory.

I read they were finicky eaters and this is definitely true. A couple ate today and hopefully all will eat tomorrow.

I am offering, frozen brine and bloodworms, fluval bug bites pellets and flakes, tried a tiny pinch of tetra flake. Any pointers are appreciated.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I believe @TeeJay has these fish. Maybe he can offer some advice?

[knee]

I've been lucky with the ones I bought because they accepted pellets and flake food right away. 

They like to spawn in caves and males usually claim the territory. Once a territory is claimed the male will coax the female to checkout his space. When I had multiple males one of them claimed the inside of a sponge filter that I had in the tank (it was always off but I was too lazy to remove it). They don't really bother anyone but their own kind but they won't back down if challenged. 

They're super fun to watch because they examine the whole tank, kinda like a pea puffer. The only drawback for me was that they blended in too well with my plants because of their colors.

[Gamegurl]

So far so good. They have all eaten.

I am concerned about one male. He is at the top with fins fully flared. Not gasping, I have plenty of air in there. I moved him to my empty 10 gallon. Could it be one of the other males was fighting with him. They were sparring yesterday. 

Edited January 24 by Gamegurl

[knee]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:40 PM, Gamegurl said:

So far so good. They have all eaten.

I am concerned about one male. He is at the top with fins fully flared. Not gasping, I have plenty of air in there. I moved him to my empty 10 gallon. Could it be one of the other males was fighting with him. They were sparring yesterday. 

I’d observe the separated male for a bit. It might be more than just fatigue from sparring because I’ve had males spar, but they eventually go back to their normal routine once it’s settled. 

[Gamegurl]

Yeah, I will keep an eye on him but he was still the same after being moved. Hopefully he'll perk up

[Gamegurl]

Unfortunately he passed. Poor little guy. My question is this, it looks like I might have 3 males and two females. Is this going to be a problem? They have lots of room being just the 5 and 4 cory's in a 29 gallon tank. My