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The Empire Gudgeon is a beautifully marked, highly sought after member of the goby family.

The Empire Gudgeon (Hypseleotris compressa) is an extremely beautiful fish that makes an excellent addition to the nano or planted aquarium. A member of the goby family, this fish is a fully freshwater oddball that will thrive in a wide array of parameters. Though it can adapt to many different parameters, the Empire Gudgeon is not known to be easy to breed in the home aquarium.

Native to Australia, the Empire Gudgeon boasts neon red, blue, and sometimes green colors, especially breeding age adults. Mature males also have a noticeably rounded head. This fish does well and best displays its optimal color and social behavior in groups of 6 to 8 or more, although a pair can do very well in a smaller aquarium. It is a micro predator that requires some high-protein frozen foods (bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, etc.) to thrive, but it will also typically accept high-quality dry foods.

The Empire Gudgeon is a peaceful fish, and will thrive in a community aquarium. Males will often posture with one another, but usually do not fight at length, especially in an aquarium with plenty of plants, rockwork, driftwood, and other hiding places. This fish is compatible with most other peaceful fish. It may prey on dwarf shrimp like neocaridina and caridina bee types (especially their fry), but is otherwise peaceful with invertebrates and is certainly safe to keep with some of the larger shrimp that we offer, such as Amano, Flower, Green Lace, and Vampire Shrimp. The Empire Gudgeon is also known to jump when being kept in tanks so it's important to ensure that the tank is well covered to help prevent jumpers from escaping. If the tank is rimless and a lid is not an option then keeping the water level down a few inches can help to keep them in the tank if they jump. Normally, after they have been tanked for a few weeks they don't tend to jump as much in our experience.

What We Like About This Fish:

Very active with peaceful disposition
Easy to feed
Adaptable to wide range of parameters
Attractive, brilliant coloration

RECOMMENDED TANK PARAMETERS:

Temperature: 68 - 95° F (22 - 26° C), but 70-80 is more ideal.
pH: 5.0 - 9.1
Minimum tank size: 30 gallons

CARE GUIDELINES:

Diet: Will often accept high-quality dry foods, but also requires high-protein frozen foods.
Social behavior: Peaceful. Males will posture with one another, but typically cause no harm.
Origin: Australia and southern New Guinea
Average adult size: 3.9 - 4.7 inches (9.9 - 12 cm)
Average purchase size: 1.5 - 2.5 inch (3.8 - 6.4 cm)

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Empire Gudgeon (Hypseleotris compressa)