Inconspicuous Blue-eye - Pseudomugil inconspicuus
The Inconspicuous Blue-eye was described by Robert in 1978. Its scientific name is Pseudomugil inconspicuus. Robert, who is an American ichthyologist, was also the fist person to collect this fish for scientific purposes. He collected it near the mouth of Fly River in 1975.
The Inconspicuous Blue-eye can reach a length of 4 cm. The body is semi-translucent, while the fins have a bit of a yellow hue, especially the caudal fin.
Geographical distribution, habitat and conservation
The Inconspicuous Blue-eye is a marine and estuarine species that can be found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is known to live in mangrove forests along the coasts of both countries and scattered Australian populations have been found in the Darwin area and the mouth of the Fly River. In New Guinea, the Inconspicuous Blue-eye has been encountered at Bristow Island and in creeks that leads to Bintuni Bay in West Papua (Irian Jaya) in Indonesia.
The typical Inconspicuous Blue-eye habitat are mangrove swamps and salty creeks near the coast where the water is brackish or marine. These habitats are affected by significant tidal changes and can be quite turbid. Large schools have been seen in muddy waters. This fish seems to like to stay near sunken trees and similar.
Since the Inconspicuous Blue-eye lives in fairly inaccessible mangrove environments that are difficult to explore, it might be much more widespread than we know. The Inconspicuous Blue-eye has not been evaluated for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Keeping Inconspicuous Blue-eye in aquariums
Just as the name suggests, the Inconspicuous Blue-eye is not one of the flamboyantly coloured blue-eyes and it is therefore rarely kept by aquarists. It is also susceptible to handling and transport chock and you must be prepared to carefully nurse it back to health if you want to keep it. Despite not being gaudily coloured, it is still quite a charming fish because it is nearly completely transparent with pale yellow outlines. In the right type of aquarium set up, a group of Inconspicuous Blue-eyes could certainly create an awe-inspiring effect. Since the Inconspicuous Blue-eye is so rare in the aquarium hobby, little is known about its requirements. Try to mimic the conditions in its natural habitat in the aquarium. It should not be kept in a freshwater aquarium; brackish or marine conditions are necessary. This fish eats plankton in the wild and should be kept on a similar diet in the aquarium.
Breeding Inconspicuous Blue-eye
We have no information about Inconspicuous Blue-eye breeding in aquariums.
Other Blue-eyesKiunga Blue-eye
New Guinea Blue-eye
Central American Cichlids
Frogs and Turtles
Lake Victoria Cichlids
Marine Aquarium Fish
Responsible Fish Keeping
South American Cichlids
Tropical Fish Food