The mudskippers (Periophthalmus) are among the most fascinating fishes at all. One can observe mother nature´s laboratory and how an aquatic animal becomes a landdwelling animal based on the observation of these fishes.
The Atlantic Mudskipper (P. barbarus) attains a maximum length of about 15 cm and is one of the larger species of the genus. Males can be easily recognized by the enormous large first dorsal fin. However, males are very aggressive against each other and it is hardly possible to keep two of them together on a long time sight. The tank for mudskippers should be furnished as an aqua-terrarium. Females are somewhat less aggressive. One can compare the level of aggressiveness best with certain species of cichlids, like Tropheus or Petrochromis. Mudskippers are very intelligent and belong to the few species of small fish that really become tame. If the keeper is interested in this the mudskipper can be trained for example to come on the keeper´s hand to take food from the fingers.
We have P. barbarus almost anytime in stock. Feeding them is simple, as they take readily any type of usual fish food, even flakes. A slight addition of seasalt (2-5 g/l) is positive for them, as it helps to keep the pH stable over 8. A lower pH is hardly tolerable for these fish.
For our customers: the animals have code 156503 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
