Native fish: Pacific Blue Eye (Pseudomugil signifer), Sydney

The Pacific Blue-eye is a beautiful small native fish found in freshwater and estuarine areas along the eastern coast of Australia. Although it has been recorded growing to 7cm, it is much more commonly seen at around 3-4cm in length. Its colourful form, long delicate fins, courtship displays and active nature make it a popular aquarium fish for native fish enthusiasts.
This video was filmed in the lower reach of a creek just above the tidal influence, in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park on the northern outskirts of Sydney. As well as the fish, it gives an idea of the habitat and biotope in this part of the creek. Pacific Blue-eye were also observed immediately downstream in the tidal areas along with a range of other species.
For more information on Pacific Blue Eye see:
The Fishes of Australia website
fishesofaustral....
The Australian Museum website
australianmuse....
The ANGFA Queensland website
rainbowfish.ang....
CAAB Taxon Code:37245020
Video and sound © Greg Wallis 2017
For stock footage enquiries contact greg(underscore)wallis(at)iinet(dot)net(dot)au

[@calamagrostis88]

It is just so great that someone is watching over these precious jewels of biodiversity. They can so easily be lost by dams, road building, logging, overgrazing, and mining.

[@mostlynature6848]

Beautiful fish and a great location. Ku-ring-gai Chase was the first national park I ever visited as a child.

[@snells-window]

The diversity and wealth of national parks on Sydneys doorstep is truly amazing. Hope you have managed to get back to ku-ring-gai since then.

[@robclippo1161]

pseudechis, could you do a video on Cox's gudgeons, they live all around Sydney's creeks and tributaries.

[@oliewray8357]

Literally all the water ways in Sydney are polluted and trash lines the bank s where the flood debris build up IV been living and exploring this part of Sydney for more than 15 years it really bad

[@mingbritson]

Thanks for sharing -- these are one pf my top 3 pseudomugil species. I REALLY wish they were easier to get here in the States! I have a group of 8-10 -- super helpful to see their habitat!!!

[@scourge2bunnies]

Beautiful!!!

[@IanPhillipsWildlife]

Nice shots, the blue is so bright.

[@georgegibson707]

Very nice.
I read they adapt well to aquariums and will breed easily in captivity

[@snells-window]

I've never kept them, but they are quite a popular and attractive aquarium and pond fish. Their colours vary quite a lot depending on where they are within their range; they have quite a wide distribution along the eastern coast of Australia.

[@sergioavalos9810]

What is the name of these fish?

[@panjimartiandaru3081]

@@sergioavalos9810 pseudomugil signifer. Or something along that. Google should auto correct that.

[@buringfyra]

Awesome channel! love these types of videos

[@TheDarwinstubby]

Busy little buggers

[@aquasnails6700]

Beautiful fish, I wish they could be found more easily across Sydney as they are a stunning species but most lakes and streams out of the national park are either polluted or filled with mosquito fish which is such a shame

[@vikingtimbo]

They're a very attractive fish so I'm not surprised they're kept in aquariums. Do you know what the blue ring around their eye is for? Does it help their vision, or maybe an indicator of good genetics and fitness to the opposite sex like a peacock's tail?

[@snells-window]

No "eye-dear" what the blue on the eye is for Tim. It's intensity seems to vary dpending on the angle it is viewed at and the fish itself. Quite a few different types of fish have eyes like this. It may be as you suggest something to do with sexual selection but that's just a guess.

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

Subtle beautys. Might be good for ponds in mild coastal California or for sure hotter inland soucal. Sydney and Los Angeles are on a par.

[@3000DanielGT]

Can you put these fish with angelfish?

[@snells-window]

I don't know as I'm not really a fish keeper.

[@DK-yx2ji]

how big do these fishes grow up to? they are selling this type in my local petshop i'm planning to get some

[@3000DanielGT]

About 2,5/3cm

[@user-rk5mt7iq8n]

What is the name of this stream and what river does it flow into?

[@snells-window]

I don't give out exact locations to protect populations. This creek is in the Kuringai Chase National Park in Sydney and flows into the Hawkesbury River

[@user-rk5mt7iq8n]

@@snells-window What kinds of fish do you protect in this river? What species of fish are on the verge of extinction?

[@user-rk5mt7iq8n]

@@snells-window A biotope without a name is not a biotope! And just a fish in the water of an unknown reservoir! It is not possible to study biotopes using such a video! I unsubscribed from your channel!

[@snells-window]

​@@user-rk5mt7iq8n I dont protect any fish here and none are on the verge of extinction. They are all quite common species and can be seen in many similar creeks in the areas. The place however is a small and peaceful location that I like to keep to myself. In these days of social media places can quickly be overrun and "loved to death". For example I've had enquiries about my crayfish videos and could I supply a couple of hundred crayfish, so my concerns are real. I'm very much supportive of people who collect the odd fish or two to study at home, but many out there are greedy and rape and pillage areas just for profit, so I need need to be cautious.

[@snells-window]

@@user-rk5mt7iq8n As I said, it is a small creek which flows into the Hawkesbury River near Sydney and is part of Kur-ring-gai National Park. You could call it an intertidal Hawkesbury Sandstone biotope. Do you have a name for every tributary of the Amazon? no...biotope channels talk about Amazon biotopes so a specific creek name is not essential. Sorry you feel the need to unsubscribe, hope you can find the content you are after somewhere else.