# Mudskipper's



## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

hello everyone well basically i was going to get some of these a few year's back but ended up with snake's and i suddenly stumbled across them again LOL and i was just wondering if anyone has got any and how difficult they are to keep i have read a few caresheet's and it doesn't seem very hard but who know's LOL.

Scotty.

Picture's are very welcome the more the merrier.LOL.


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

i always thought they were fish ? :hmm:


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

salad dodger said:


> i always thought they were fish ? :hmm:


That's what I thought.

This should be in the Fish Keeping section.

There are a few posts on Mudskippers in the fish-keeping section here.
I don't want to re-write what has been written there.

Aggression is going to be the first problem you will come across depending upon which species you get. All are pretty aggressive, but the larger ones do a lot of damage to each other pretty quickly if not stocked appropriately.

I'd recommend getting Periophthalmodon septemradiatus or Periophthalmus novemradiatus as the first ones.

Ian


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

Nope the care sheet say's they are amphibian because like frog's they spend most their time out of water,

I don't get that care sheet it say's they are brackish water fish then it say's they are amphibious WTF.


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## hedwigdan (Apr 17, 2011)

scotty667 said:


> Nope the care sheet say's they are amphibian because like frog's they spend most their time out of water,
> 
> I don't get that care sheet it say's they are brackish water fish then it say's they are amphibious WTF.


They are brackish fish that can live out of water for short periods of time,
They're not amphibians just because they spend time out of water mate..
I know afew people on here keep them and have seen afew at a show here in Ireland..
In an exo terra, brackish water filled to the base at the bottom with afew nice big aquarium ornaments sticking out as perchs, Afraid I can't give you any info on the actual care but thats what the setup was like if I remember right :2thumb:


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

hedwigdan said:


> They are brackish fish that can live out of water for short periods of time,
> They're not amphibians just because they spend time out of water mate..
> I know afew people on here keep them and have seen afew at a show here in Ireland..
> In an exo terra, brackish water filled to the base at the bottom with afew nice big aquarium ornaments sticking out as perchs, Afraid I can't give you any info on the actual care but thats what the setup was like if I remember right :2thumb:


I'll think i'll ask a mod to move this then, i must have a bad caresheet because it just say's amphibious at the bottom then fish out the top LOL and plus it say's they spend 80% out of water in their burrow's i dunno i just need a little information on them that's all.

Thank's for your Replies though.

Scotty.


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

Scotty, the mods moved this a while back, guess you didn't notice?

Just to clarify, mustkippers are AMPHIBIOUS fish, not the same thing as been an amphibian.

Amphibious fish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amphibian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps.

Ade


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

Wolfenrook said:


> Scotty, the mods moved this a while back, guess you didn't notice?
> 
> Just to clarify, mustkippers are AMPHIBIOUS fish, not the same thing as been an amphibian.
> 
> ...


HAHA sorry didn't notice LOL.


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

Wolfenrook said:


> Scotty, the mods moved this a while back, guess you didn't notice?
> 
> Just to clarify, mustkippers are AMPHIBIOUS fish, not the same thing as been an amphibian.
> 
> ...


First one was an interesting read the second one i do know what an amphibian is i must just have a really bad care sheet.

Scotty.


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

Anyone else would like to see some set up's as well.


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

There are very very few internet sites that deal effectively with Mudskippers. 

Mudskippers are quite a modern fish. They are not primitive fish (like are lungfish) and are defo 'fish'.

I mentioned the 2 best species to keep in my initial post.
But, another species commonly available is _Periophthalmus barbarus_. That species does get to a foot long, but rarely much bigger than 8 inches in captivity. 
It is aggressive and keeping a community of them has major space problems.

The other 2 mentioned above are equally aggressive, but being much much smaller (4 inches for one, and about 3 inches for the other) the damage done is not so instantly dramatic. 
A large male P.barbarus can take one big irreparable chunk out of another male.

I've kept Mudskippers for over 30 years, and still find them fascinating.
Very intelligent fish.

Water depth does not need to be deep (but you also have to work out how to safely fit a heater and filtration system).

You will need something (rocks for example) for them to climb onto. 

Ideally, if you can get hold of safe marine mud then many species like to dig in mud. 
But if you can't then don't use any old mud.

They will exist for a short while in freshwater, but ideally it should be brackish for long-term health.

The water should be buffered towards the alkaline side. 

Your tank needs to be escape-proof.

Mid-70s F will do for temperature. Make sure that the air above the water is humid and of roughly the same temperature at the water.

Food......nearly all are carnivorous. Do not bother with any species that is not.
Food could be good quality food you'd feed frogs.
They may be easily tempted to eat defrosted frozen fish food. 

Do not over feed. A feeding every other day is often sufficient.

I would be more interested in science of these fish than just keeping them.
So, the above is enough info to get you going....and if I continue then I'd only be tempted to get into talking about how fascinating these fish are. 

Ian


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

igmillichip said:


> There are very very few internet sites that deal effectively with Mudskippers.
> 
> Mudskippers are quite a modern fish. They are not primitive fish (like are lungfish) and are defo 'fish'.
> 
> ...


Keep talking if you want i find it fascinating reading it have you got any picture's of a set up and i would probably get some of the mesh that is on top of the exo terra tank's to put around a heater and filter for safety and if i was able to get of hold of the mud would a low wattage bulb with a guard connected to a stat be able to keep the humidity and be able to keep the ambient temperature.

Scotty.


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

scotty667 said:


> Keep talking if you want i find it fascinating reading it have you got any picture's of a set up and i would probably get some of the mesh that is on top of the exo terra tank's to put around a heater and filter for safety and if i was able to get of hold of the mud would a low wattage bulb with a guard connected to a stat be able to keep the humidity and be able to keep the ambient temperature.
> 
> Scotty.


Try and locate the last thread on here for Mudskippers, I plonked a video or 2 on there.

I'd recommend covering much of the mesh with some cling-film to help keep in humidity. You do need to take care with rusting making the mesh fall apart though....especially if using brackish water. 

Here's just a few points about them (as generalisations):

uber eyesight that any future digital camera should copy. They have a special High-Definition vision for close-up vision in black and white on the lower part of the eye; then they have full colour vision from the upper part of the eye.
They can focus at infinity and at macro at the same time...fantastic.

They can hear air-borne sounds....ie you can actually train them to be called like you would a dog.....they can pin point air-bound sounds and aim towards them. They actually 'hear' rather that just feel vibrations.

Depending on species and humidity, these can stay out of water for ages using a sack of water held under their gills when running around.

Movement....they can climb a shear glass wall, they can run and easily hop from side to side and backwards with speed and ease.

Many species have the ability to actively secrete ammonia....that is just a superb method of fish survival that few fish have.
With that ability, some can tolerate very high pHs (maybe upto pH 9.5).

There you go.....just a few things to get your appetite fed to looking more into these fish that, if man becomes extinct tomorrow, then these could be the next leading life form on earth. 

Ian


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

igmillichip said:


> Try and locate the last thread on here for Mudskippers, I plonked a video or 2 on there.
> 
> I'd recommend covering much of the mesh with some cling-film to help keep in humidity. You do need to take care with rusting making the mesh fall apart though....especially if using brackish water.
> 
> ...


The more you write the more awesome they sound LOL and one question in have got to ask though and it might sound silly but i honestly don't understand PH level's and that if you could help shed some light on that i will be much appreciated.


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## jaykickboxer (Feb 11, 2008)

scotty667 said:


> The more you write the more awesome they sound LOL and one question in have got to ask though and it might sound silly but i honestly don't understand PH level's and that if you could help shed some light on that i will be much appreciated.


Ph is just how hard ur water is it fluctuates thought the country


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

I won't do an article here on pH....it will just take too long.

But, one of the problems a fish may have in high pH (one of the measures used to indicate how acid or alkaline water is) is that it may find it hard to rid ammonia from its body. BUT, if the fish can tolerate ammonia AND has active ammonia pumps then it has many many times less of problem of removing toxic ammonia from its body.

That's one of the relevances of pH with mudskippers. 

Here's a few pictures I got from my photobucket account.

The first 3 are of _Periophthalmodon septemradiatus_ (quite a small fish...8 to 10 cms....and often sold as 'vietnamese mudskipper');
the last photo is of _Periophthalmus barbarus_ (this is quite a young one, but would grow to nearly a foot long. It is sold as 'mudskipper' or 'african mudskipper'......actually this particular individual is the only animal to ever draw blood from me !!!).





































Here's a few videos
Mudskipper....Periophthalmodon septemradiatus - YouTube
(Pn septemradiatus)
and

Mudskippers. Mad fish that can run on land. - YouTube
(P. barbarus)


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## scotty667 (Oct 14, 2011)

igmillichip said:


> I won't do an article here on pH....it will just take too long.
> 
> But, one of the problems a fish may have in high pH (one of the measures used to indicate how acid or alkaline water is) is that it may find it hard to rid ammonia from its body. BUT, if the fish can tolerate ammonia AND has active ammonia pumps then it has many many times less of problem of removing toxic ammonia from its body.
> 
> ...


Yeah i saw the video's on the other thread and basically just how hard the water is then and i do the the larger one but i think they all look really cool  .


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## obicat (Oct 11, 2011)

I've got 1, there was 2 and they co existed just fine together in a foot long tank in the shop. I put them in a 3 foot tank with the correct conditions and 1 killed and ate the other one :censor:

I love mine, hes uber cool. He spends most of his time half submerged in the water. He comes out for food and to beg. I have sand, really deep at one end and very shallow in the rest. I also have a huge piece of wood and several big stones. Hes very very fast for something that propels itself on land using little stumpy fins!

While hes technically a fish, I dont think of mine as being a fish, he is at least as tame as my newts, and is very like them personality wise. I've struggled to get the air temp high enough. My water is 26/28 but the air tends to hover at 22. I'm just about to change to a bigger heat mat to see if it helps


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

I'd say 22 air temp would be fine. They are quite use to adapting quite quickly to changes in temp anyway.

They are also rather good at basking, using colour changes and body orientation, like a reptile. 

Yep......we call ours little puppy dogs (and they are not mammals either) 

I'd even wonder if they are more intelligent than many amphibians; I won't, however, start going off-topic and comparing their intellect to our 'financial wizards' in the world.


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## jaykickboxer (Feb 11, 2008)

igmillichip said:


> I'd say 22 air temp would be fine. They are quite use to adapting quite quickly to changes in temp anyway.
> 
> They are also rather good at basking, using colour changes and body orientation, like a reptile.
> 
> ...


Tried order some of these today but the only shop I've ever seen with em doesn't get em anymore as apparantly there never in stock so don't no how I'm gonna get some


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

jaykickboxer said:


> Tried order some of these today but the only shop I've ever seen with em doesn't get em anymore as apparantly there never in stock so don't no how I'm gonna get some


I'd try the Aquatic Design Centre in Great Portland Street , near oxford Circus . My friend works for them , they can get pretty much anything


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## jaykickboxer (Feb 11, 2008)

lionfish said:


> I'd try the Aquatic Design Centre in Great Portland Street , near oxford Circus . My friend works for them , they can get pretty much anything


Cheers I'm always in there never seen any il see of my LCD can get any if not try them cheers


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## obicat (Oct 11, 2011)

Did you ever source any? Mine is increasingly tame and is eating like the proverbial pig! :lol2:


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