3 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful and active; keep a group and give plants.
381 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful and active; keep a group and give plants.
Baby brine shrimp, daphnia and fine flake.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are larger, brighter and more patterned, with extended dorsal and anal fins (some wild males have long fin filaments that do not regrow in captivity); females are smaller and duller.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer (spawning mops) · Moderate
Egg scatterer with no parental care: sticky eggs are laid singly or in twos and threes among plants or mops, mainly in late morning or early afternoon. Group spawning with several mops spreads male aggression.
A group of 6 or more.
A 30 L planted tank with spawning mops and floating plants.
Cool to warm water and live food.
A few eggs per female each day over several days; eggs hatch in about 10-21 days depending on temperature (12-17 days at 22-28 °C per ANGFA).
Feed infusoria, then baby brine shrimp.
A small blue-eye from Australia's east coast, from Cape York to southern New South Wales. It lives in fresh, brackish and even sea water and tolerates a wide temperature range; it has been kept as an aquarium fish since at least the early 1900s.
Austrian ichthyologist Rudolf Kner described this blue-eye in 1866. It lives along the eastern coast of Australia and can handle both fresh and slightly salty water. Several regional colour forms are kept by native-fish enthusiasts.
First described by Rudolf Kner in 1866. Named for 'signifer' means 'standard-bearer', for the male's flag-like fins.
17 facts checked with sources
Valid, but watch for the 2024 split: Hammer, Allen, Adams & Unmack (2024) described Pseudomugil halophilus from the lower reaches of coastal creeks in eastern Queensland (Catalog of Fishes), and Seriously Fish/ANGFA note that P. signifer may be two or more species. Brackish-water eastern Queensland fish sold as P. signifer may now be P. halophilus.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: species of Pseudomugil · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summaryLegacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: species of Pseudomugil · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summarySeriously Fish and FishBase both 7.0 cm SL; size varies a lot by population (southern fish rarely over 4 cm, northern males to 9 cm per ANGFA). Legacy 5 cm raised to 7 cm SL.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summary · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signiferSeriously Fish (preferred) 20-26 °C; ANGFA 20-28 °C. Wild water 15-28 °C, the low end only for southern fish in winter. Legacy 18-28 is wider than both aquarium ranges.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signifer · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summaryAll three sources say 6.5-7.5; legacy 7-8.5 is too alkaline at the top.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signifer · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summaryLegacy has no hardness. Seriously Fish 5-15; ANGFA under 200 ppm (about 11 dGH); FishBase 12-15.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summary60 x 30 cm base x 30 cm height = 54 L. Seriously Fish says small forms can live in less and large northern forms need much more. Legacy 40 L.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signiferLegacy 6.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signiferWild females often spawn only once, at about one year old (ANGFA).
ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signiferPeaceful with other species, but large northern males can kill rival males in small tanks.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signiferFishBase says benthopelagic; no source says top-dwelling in substance.
FishBase: Pseudomugil signifer summaryLegacy 1 (easy). Seriously Fish rates it Moderate; ANGFA calls it easy and hardy. Seriously Fish preferred for husbandry ratings, so recorded as moderate.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signiferLegacy has no native range. IUCN: Least Concern (2019, per FishBase). Some coastal eastern Queensland populations may now belong to P. halophilus (2024).
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signiferLegacy 5-15 eggs a day and hatching in 10-14 days; hatching usually takes longer.
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signiferLegacy calls it a 'rainbowfish'; it is a blue-eye (Pseudomugilidae). Salt is not needed in the aquarium (Seriously Fish).
Seriously Fish: Pseudomugil signifer · ANGFA Home of the Rainbowfish (Tappin): Pseudomugil signifer