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Encyclopedia / Rainbowfish / Forktail blue-eye
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Variations

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Forktail blue-eye

Pseudomugil furcatus · Furcatus, Forktail rainbow, Forktail blue eye

Peaceful and shy; keep a group and give plants.

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6 cmBody length, without tail ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
7–8pH ✓
54 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • White cloud mountain minnow needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Forktail blue-eye is tropical.
  • They need different temperatures (24–28 °C vs 14–22 °C). No setting suits both.
Not recommended
  • Giant gourami eats animals up to about 10 cm. Forktail blue-eye only grows to 6 cm.
Not recommended
  • They need different temperatures (24–28 °C vs 10–22 °C). No setting suits both.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

255 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓15–30 dGH
Group size ✓8 or more
Temperament ✓Peaceful
Swims at ?Top
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 2.5–4 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful and shy; keep a group and give plants. Good for nano tanks.

Food

Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, microworms and fine flake.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Males are brighter and more patterned, with longer, extended dorsal and anal fins; females are duller with shorter fins.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Egg-scatterer (spawning mops) · Moderate

Egg scatterer with no parental care: females lay a few eggs a day for several days on plants, moss or mops, and adults eat eggs and fry. Hobby stock is inbred, so fertility is often low.

Pairing

A group of 6 or more.

Setup

A 30 L planted tank with spawning mops and floating plants.

What starts it

Warm water and live food.

Eggs

A few eggs per female each day over several days; incubation about 21 days depending on temperature, and often more than half the eggs are infertile.

Raising the fry

Feed infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.

Common mistakes
  • Keeping too few fish so spawning does not start
  • Eggs eaten by adults
  • Cold or dirty water
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionEastern Papua New Guinea – Oro (Northern) Province
Rivers and lakesStreams draining to Collingwood and Dyke Ackland bays
HabitatClear rainforest streams and swamps
Native rangeAbout 150 km across
See it on the world map

The story of the forktail blue-eye

A small blue-eye from eastern Papua New Guinea with a deeply forked tail (furcatus means forked) and a yellow-green body with yellow fin edges. All aquarium fish are captive-bred, apparently from a single 1981 collection by Gerald Allen and Barry Crockford.

John Treadwell Nichols of the American Museum of Natural History described this blue-eye in 1955. It was later placed in the genus Popondetta, named after a town in its home province, before being moved to Pseudomugil. Captive-bred fish are now widely available and easy to keep.

First described by John Treadwell Nichols in 1955. Named for 'furcatus' means 'forked', describing its tail.

  • Its bright blue eyes are typical of blue-eyes in the family Pseudomugilidae.
  • It was once placed in a genus named after the town of Popondetta.
  • It grows to only about 5 cm.

Sources

16 facts checked with sources