Asian Blue Mudskipper (8-10 CM)
£37.20
Please note, due to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image provided.
The Great Blue-spotted Mudskipper (Boleophthalmus pectinirostris), often called the Asian blue mudskipper, is an amphibious fish that grows up to 7 inches (18 cm) long and features a greenish-grey body with sky-blue speckles.
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Description
Physical Characteristics and Anatomy
- Size: Grows up to 7 inches (18 cm) long.
- Appearance: Greenish-grey skin marked with vibrant sky-blue spots.
- Respiration: Breathes air through its skin (cutaneous respiration) using a special three-layered epidermis with swollen cells that prevent dehydration.
- Locomotion: Uses forward-facing pectoral and pelvic fins like limbs to walk, crawl, and tail-hop across mudflats.
Habitat and Distribution
- Range: Found along the northwest Pacific coastlines, including Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Sumatra.
- Environment: Inhabits tropical and subtropical muddy estuaries, intertidal tidal flats, and mangrove swamps.
- Burrows: Digs deep burrows up to 1 meter deep in the mud, which it maintains using its mouth and uses for safety, thermoregulation, and breeding.
Behavior and Diet
- Diet: Primarily a herbivorous diatom grazer, feeding on algae from the mud surface during the day.
- Territoriality: Territorial males fight rivals by raising their striking dorsal fins and opening their mouths.
Tank Dimensions & Structure
- Minimum Tank Size: A 30 to 40-gallon “long” breeder aquarium (minimum 36″ x 18″ footprint) or a 100L+ tank. Mudskippers require floor space over vertical height to establish territories and hunt.
- Land-to-Water Ratio: Maintain a 70% land to 30% water ratio (or 2/3 land, 1/3 water).
- The Escape-Proof Lid: You must use a tight-fitting, solid glass or acrylic lid. Mudskippers are prolific climbers and jumpers that can scale vertical glass. Screen tops are unacceptable because they vent out the humidity necessary for their survival.
Water Chemistry & Environment
Mudskippers inhabit intertidal mangrove swamps and require brackish water:
- Salinity: Keep a Specific Gravity (SG) between 1.005 and 1.015 (roughly 10–15 ppt). Use commercial marine/reef salt mixed with a refractometer, never aquarium freshwater salt.
- pH Range: 7.5 to 8.5 (alkaline).
- Temperature: Keep both the air and water warm, between 24°C and 29°C (75°F to 85°F). Use a submersible heater equipped with a plastic heater guard—mudskippers will climb onto the heater and can suffer fatal burns.
- Humidity: The air inside the tank must remain incredibly humid so their skin and mouth membranes do not dry out.
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