Fish ID

[barkers creek]

gday guys,
went for a flick this morning and landed this little feller .
wouldent have a clue wat it is if u ask me it looks like a freash water gudgeon
it had a pretty flat head a beuitiful colors he had yellow spots with a pinkish fins.put up an alright fight for hes size .cought him around a litle rock creek on a 2'' fat grub
anyone seen one before?

cheers nath

[SheppyG]

Hi Nath,

Not quite sure what they are called, but have caught a few on lures in the creeks up north.
My old man used to call them Mud Cods but i am guessing that is not the real name for them.

Shep...

[Wahoo]

Hi Nath,

Not quite sure what they are called, but have caught a few on lures in the creeks up north.
My old man used to call them Mud Cods but i am guessing that is not the real name for them.

Shep...

same here we call them mud cod, great live bait for barra

Daz

[iank]

It is a sleepy cod, supposed to be great eating, and also as stated great live bait for impoundment barra. http://www.nativefish.asn.au/sleepycod.html
Cheers Ian

[jackson4300]

Yep, u got it iank, a sleep cod.

[tunaticer]

it is excellent eating too comparable to a freshwater version of pearl perch.

jack

[barkers creek]

thanks guys
sleepy cod are a freashwater fish i cought him in saltwater
it does look like one tho is it possible for them to change to salt like jack and barra do
cheers nath

[warti]

I think its some type of gudgeon fish. Look them up mate.:)

[Wahoo]

it does look like one tho is it possible for them to change to salt like jack and barra do
cheers nath

and now even the Tilapia

Daz

[rando]

I read an article on Sleepy cod in last months BnB, they are indeed a species of gudgeon and they do resemble that fish. I dont know if they can tolerate salt water so I defer judgment to someone better at fish ID than me

[mitch qld]

Nath,

Definently a snake headed gudgeon. Caught a few of these in my local area in brackish water, and also up in the crystal clear fresh near daintree.

Great fight, fantastic colours, probablly not bad barra bait or eating. However, they are quite rare and, as with any fish worth a smidgen of merit these days, should be released.

Cheers, Mitch.

[barkers creek]

Nath,

Definently a snake headed gudgeon. Caught a few of these in my local area in brackish water, and also up in the crystal clear fresh near daintree.

Great fight, fantastic colours, probablly not bad barra bait or eating. However, they are quite rare and, as with any fish worth a smidgen of merit these days, should be released.

Cheers, Mitch.



cheers mitch yer he was pretty good fight and was released .....the one thingh i dont get is it was in pure salt water im talking mayby 1km from the mouth of the river if you lucky but there was a slight run off from the resent rain but it as straight from a storm water outlet....but thanks anyways had a look not many pics but the 1 i did see looks pretty much like it

cheers

[cdg81]

mud cod. live all sorts of places. drains around cane feilds, fresh and brackish water in creeks.

[jackscatch]

Hey nath i caught 1 in the cast net at the back of jacobs one time

[barkers creek]

cheers jacko and cdg not a bad fight

[Brett1907]

Just checked Ians link, doesn't say anywhere there that they are a fresh water only species. Fish are pretty adaptable, there are plenty that go from salt to fesh or the other way around to breed. Have even saw what looked like a huge goldfish in brackish water.

Brett

[Brooksy]

The fish is actually a spangled gudgeon (Ophiocara porocephala) and not a sleepy cod nor a snakehead gudgeon. These are actually an estuarine species that will move into the lower freshwater reaches on occasions. That fish is pretty close to the maximum size.
Cheers Steve

[barkers creek]

cheers agin guys for the info
brooksy a snakhead gudgeon and spangled have the same sientific name

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/marinefish/text/367.htm

cheers still not sure if its one tho

(sorry bout spelling)

[Stiphodon]

It is definitely a spangled gudgeon (Ophiocara poroephala), that website from Singapore seems to be a bit off track. The scientific name for a snakehead gudgeon is Giurus margaritacea, which are incidentally only found as far south as the Burdekin River and as far north as the Bloomfield river. Nice fish too, I've only ever seen a few that large