< Back to Main Entry

Pseudomugil furcatus Near Threatened

Forktail rainbowfish

Stats

Family

Pseudomugilidae

Genus

Pseudomugil

Size

9.00 cm

Males can attain a size of around 3.5".

Temperament

Peaceful, Community

Generally peaceful but may opportunistically eat smaller fish.

Diet

Insectivore

Tank Size

76.00 L

75.00 cm x 12.00 cm

Temperature

24.0 C - 28.0 C

Parameters

pH of 7.0-8.0.

Level

Other

Other Information

Males will get the thick, conspicuous, highlighter-yellow streamers/edging on all of their fins, and perform dances for the females in which they will flare their fins/gills and tail slap around them. All available specimens in the hobby are highly inbred, being derived from from one group collected at Peria Creek, Papua New Guinea in 1981.

Breeding

Spawning Method

Egg-scatterer

Eggs are laid in the morning as the sun rises, males and females will swim through masses of plants (or yarn in artificial settings) to deposit and fertilize eggs. Eggs take around 3 weeks to hatch and are very susceptible to fungus, so antifungal medications such as methylene blue can be added to the incubation tank. Due to them being highly inbred in captivity they additionally have a very low fertility rate, on top of their already small fertility window.

Spawn Size

10 fry

Breeding Season or Trigger

Sunrise, warmer water, and conditioning with high protein foods. Females must be at least 8 months old and start to lose fertility at around a year of age.

Fry Care

Eggs may need assistance hatching, which can be done by placing the eggs in a small container of some sort and either carrying them around in your pocket for a few hours or manually shaking them for a few minutes. Fry are allegedly born big enough to take newly hatched brine shrimp upon becoming free swimming.

Locations