Common Names: Atlantic mudskipper, mudskipper, common mudskipper, mudhopper, 'skipper.
Scientific Name: Periophthalmus barbarus (Linnaeus, 1766) [really old sources sometimes call them Gobius barbarus]
From Where? West African coast area and the nearby islands. Fishbase say's they're also found on and near Guam, interestingly. Generally found on mud flats and around mangrove swamps throughout its distribution.
Size: According to legend, this beast reaches a whopping 25cm (10 inches!), which I have honestly never seen, but to this day has kept me away from West African mangrove swamps. They commonly attain 15cm (6 inches) though.
Foodstuffs: In the wild they'll take whatever they can get their mouth around, which can be quite a lot - small crabs, insects, and supposedly baby mudskippers too. In captivity they'll quite happily munch down on most frozen and live foods: anything from bloodworm to krill to fish, they'll be happy. Some 'skippers convert to dry food diets, but even then try to include some frozen/live foods from time to time.
PS: for a real show, throw a live insect in their enclosure. Sit back and enjoy.
Water: Mudskippers are hardy little guys, and can tolerate anything from freshwater to brackish to marine and even beyond that. Despite this, you'll find they do the best when you keep them in 'normal' brackish water over the long term. Keep the SG between 1.003 and 1.010 for the best results.
They're also not fussy on temperature, but you've got to keep it tropical, 24 degrees C (76 degrees F) and upwards.
Quality is (as with pretty much anything else with these guys) all chilled, so long as you don't leave the water stagnant and rotting. Mudskippers have a much higher tolerance for nitrogenous wastes as compared to most other fish. But in the ethics of good fishkeeping, do a water change at least once a month, and make sure the water is well filtered.
Aquarium Specifics:
Ah, the most important aspect of 'skipper keeping.
The first thing you'll need is some area of land for them to, well, crawl, climb and skip on. Failing to provide this will result in your mudskippers sticking itself to the glass and crawling up. As cool as it looks, it's pretty tiring for your mudskipper. And yes, they can drown. They absorb most of their oxygen through their skin, so land in now definitely in your interest.
In the more basic setups, some people just stack rocks and/or wood onto which the skipper can climb onto. This works well, especially for smaller setups, but it doesn't look very much like a mudskipper habitat. This is where you make your own beach? How, you ask? Well, slope some sand in the tank by putting more sand/gravel on the one side than on the other. Use rocks or sheets of glass to act as retaining walls to prevent the beach from slumping and e voila: you have beach. How much beach you need is dependent on how many muddies you'll be keeping. Males are aggro to each other, females not so much so. You need 900cm squared (1 square foot) of beach for a male and female to share, or otherwise the same measurements for each male.
It won't really matter to the mudskippers, but incorporating a beach normally leaves you with pretty shallow water, which also ends up being ideal for mudskippers. Shallow water is not only easy for them to get out of, but it so happens to be similar to conditions they'd live in in nature. Notice how, in most of the pictures I've posted, they only submerge themselves until only their eyes are sticking out the water. They like it that way.
Now you'll need some filtration. If you have the mostly recommended shallow water, you'll have a problem with internal filters, barring using them horizontally. The better idea is to use either a canister filter or a sump, with the added benefit of keeping out of your tank and making the whole setup seem a whole lot more natural. Another bonus in using a sump is that you can shove your heater in there too, which is a safety feature in a sense. Seeing that mudskippers like to climb everywhere, a heater in their actual tank is a burn threat. Sump + heater = good idea.
To add to the habitat, use roots (that look like mangroves, because mangroves can be tricky to grow in a skipper setup) and maybe allow some other plants that enjoy humidity (like some ferns) to grow in the upper parts of the tank. Make it really natural, although not biotope specifically correct.
Compatibility: They don't mind mixing with other fish, although normally the shallower water doesn't hold other fish well. I prefer to keep mudskippers in a tank to themselves and meet their requirements specifically.
To make the best scenarios, just keep a male with one or two females in a setup. Keeping multiple males together ends up becoming messy (gory etc). Also, try to avoid mixing different species of mudskippers. I haven't tried this myself but I can see it ending badly.
Specific Problems: Read above.
Rarity: The most common mudskipper, even places that aren't pet stores sometimes get them.
Similar Species: There are a few species of mudskippers, and a handful of gobies that look a little bit like mudskippers. These are most easily identified by the bright blue specks on their cheeks and generally larger size, as well as their availability.
SEE ALSO: Aye, 'skipper
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