Breeding Paska's Blue-eye (Pseudomugil paskai)
Breeding Pseudomugil paskai from the Fly River: sexing, soft slightly acidic plant or mop spawning, daily eggs and fry care.
Overview
Pseudomugil paskai is a small blue-eye known only from small creeks near Kiunga in the upper Fly River system of Papua New Guinea, living in rainforest streams with abundant aquatic vegetation. According to Wikipedia the species was named after John Paska, a technician with the Papua New Guinea Ministry of Fisheries. FishBase gives a maximum standard length of 3.0 cm and lists the species as an omnivorous egg-layer and peaceful community fish; it is classed as Critically Endangered, so well-recorded captive stocks have particular value. As a Pseudomugil it is a continuous plant-spawner.
Sexing
In keeping with the genus, males are the more colourful sex with the stronger red-orange flushes in the fins and more extended finnage, while females are plainer with shorter fins. Displaying males show their fullest colour during courtship.
Conditioning
FishBase describes the species as omnivorous, so condition a small group on varied small live and frozen foods until the females fill with eggs and the males display steadily.
Breeding Setup
- Provide fine-leaved plants such as java moss or nylon spawning mops as egg sites.
- FishBase gives a pH range of 6.5-7.5 reflecting its vegetated rainforest streams.
- FishBase lists a temperature range of 22-26 degrees C.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
As a continuous spawner of the blue-eye group, the males court females that deposit small numbers of adhesive eggs into the plants or mop each day over an extended period rather than in a single spawn.
Egg & Fry Care
Eggs attach to the medium by fine threads. Following the pattern of the genus, the small fry begin on infusoria-type foods before moving onto free-swimming foods such as brine shrimp nauplii and microworm.
Common Challenges
Adults may eat eggs and fry, so removing the spawning medium for separate hatching helps. Soft, slightly acidic water within the FishBase pH range of 6.5-7.5 and a temperature around 22-26 degrees C, matching its vegetated rainforest creeks, together with small first foods, support the small fry. As a peaceful, Critically Endangered species, maintaining pure, well-recorded captive lines is especially worthwhile.