Oh no... I ordered a Peacock Gudgeon!

[RackinRocky]

I read up on Peacock Gudgeons (I thought) and then ordered one along with some Oryzins Woworae and Honey Gouramis today. THEN...after I'd ordered, I saw a thread that claimed that gudgeons will eat Fork-tail rainbows and spotted rainbows, and I'm assuming, rice fish too.

My 20 gallon contains
7 fork-tail rainbows
2 Gertrudae rainbows
1 GBR


My 10 gallon contains

3 Norman's Lamp Eye killies
1 endler
1 GBR


Now, in the thread I read a lot of people said they'd had trouble with gudgeons. Other threads that I'd read previously said Peacock gudgeons are very peaceful and don't bother anyone. I thought I'd researched! So, what tank can I safely put the gudgeon in? The 2 Gouramis were going to go one in each tank (since I know gouramis can be aggressive together). Can I safely do this?

20 gallon

Fork-tail rainbows
Gertrudae rainbows
rice fish
GBR endler
killies
Honey Gourami

10 gallon

Honey Gourami
GBR
Peacock Gudgeon

I know this would overstock the 20 gallon a bit, but I don't want the gudgeon attacking the little fish!

 

[bettaowner]

I've never heard that. They might be territorial but I have never observed any predatory behavior.

 

[Mcgolg76]

They won't bother your fish. Had one in a nano community with no problems. They did eat a lot of the baby cherry shrimp.

 

[RackinRocky]

Oh, you guys have really made me feel better! Thanks so much! I was freaking out, wondering where I'd put it. I have a 55, but didn't want to put it in there, as the tank has had columnaris issues, and I am not adding any new fish in there, as it wouldn't be fair to expose a fish to it. The ones that are currently in there will just have to live out their lives, and then I can break down that tank and start over. I just can't bring myself to euthanize all the fish in there that are currently acting healthy. Now I can rest easy! Thanks again, so much.

 

[Mcgolg76]

My gudgeons were very timid. Probably will hide a lot. My smaller one disappeared and I assumed it was dead. Even did a full tank breakdown where I changed the substrate from gravel to sand. Took everything out to clean and never saw him. Then one day he randomly reappeared. Must have been wedged in driftwood when I broke tank down.

 

[Toad]

There are quite a few different gudgeons in the market, I imagine they may have meant one of the larger more predatory ones like purples spotted

 

[DragonFish71]

Considering peacock gudgeons are the same size or smaller than what you already have, I think where you read that information needs to correct it. They will eat their own fry, and I wouldn't suggest them with shrimp, but with other fish they are fine.

 

[Tony Gill]

Yes, one of the most placid gudgeons going - and one of the prettiest. Be aware that they are expert jumpers, so make sure the tank is well covered.

 

[RackinRocky]

Yes, exactly, Dragon. I wondered how a fish that is as small or smaller than what I have could be that much of a threat, but I DID read warnings about them, and the subject was Peacocks, not another type of gudgeon. That they were nippers. Wow, so they are really good hiders? I wonder if I should have two, and maybe it would make them less nervous? I only ordered one, as I don't know if I'll like them or not. But the more I think about it, it seems one might feel lonely with no others of it's kind. I'll wait and see what happens--I should be getting it either Tues. or Wed. of next week.

Funny story, I bought a Cherry barb, and she just disappeared when I released her into my 55 gallon. Didn't see her again. I could have SWORN she was released with the other two I'd gotten that day, I'm very careful about that. I had visions of me putting the bag in the trash with the fish still in it, but when I looked, no fish in bag. That fish did not reappear until two months later! One day, there she was, and I was really shocked. I got a male Cherry barb right away, as I suppose she was hiding really well because there were no other Cherries in the tank. After that, she was out almost all the time.

And yes, Tony, I did read what good jumpers they are. It will be in my 20 gallon, which has a lid. I'm glad I found out about the jumping, because my 10 gallon doesn't have a lid. I feel so much better now. Also, if you have an excellent jumper, how do you safely do water changes? I've yet to have a fish jump out during water changes, and I have some killies, which I know are also good jumpers. Maybe I've just been lucky?