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The PERCH MAN ABN 42 065 149 145

Soon Hock or sleepy cod 

(Soon hock = Oxyeleotris marmorata)

Australian sleepy cod = Oxyeleotris lineolata

The Perch Man, Bruce Sambell, was the first person to ever breed this species in captivity, and the first person to produce a commercial crop of fry/fingerlings. To order fingerlings or adult fish email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More information can be found in the "Members Area"

Right click most pictures on this website and open in new tab to see full size image		Click pictures below for video
Video showing weaning fingerling	Video Sleepy cod ready to eat click picture

Weaned fingerlings are available. Weaned fingerlings that have been feeding on pellets are generally past the connibalistic phase, however if not stocked at high densities they will begin to eat each other again. Contact the Perch Man for availability and prices. Click for video of larger fingerlings feeding

Below left: Young male Australian sleepy cod, ready to breed. Right: A very rare gold form of Australian sleepy cod.

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This page containes general information about sleepy cod. For more information go to the members area.

One of the most promising fish for future aquaculture. This fish has many qualities to give it all-round appeal as aquaculture species for the future.
It has been argued that this species has the best eating quality of all Australian freshwater fish.
Extremely easy to transport at high densities.
High flesh recovery.
Can be kept and grown in high densities.
Never have muddy flavour.

The Fitzroy/Dawson River strain, grow better than northern strain for aquaculture.
Recirculating systems necessary for grow-out.
Must be stocked at high densities.
High fat diets, (15-20%) undesirable as the fat damages the liver, this will affect FCR because the liver is an important part of the digestive system.
Placid and easy to handle.
Fitzroy/Dawson strain genetically distinct from northern strain.
Sleepy cod grow faster in tanks than in ponds
Males grow slower.

Best above 26C. Below 22C not recommended, with problems below 18C

They can produce huge numbers of eggs, up to at least 170,000 for larger fish! Information on breeding is available to clients. click here

COLOUR
The colour of sleepy cod can change according to environmental conditions. It is possible to manipulate their colour to provide fish to the market in a preferred colour. By this I mean lighter or darker, or even more marbled, but you can't change to the colours seen below, These are very rare. Temperature and light are other factors that effect the fishes colour. They are capable of changing colour within a few minutes.

Sometimes very rare colour forms of sleepy cod occur. These fish are only found in one or two streams in Queensland, and in the Pioneer River in the Kimberley region of Northern Australia. The ones from the Kimberley are a different species, (Oxeleotris selheimi) to those in Southern Queensland. We are breeding from these fish to develop more attractive colour forms. I have kept many of these "coloured" fish. Occasionally I have had one of these coloured fish actually change colour over weeks. The orange fish in the picture below changed to a marbled orange/brown fish over a couple of weeks. We continued to use it as a breeder because it had the orange gene.

(You can right click and open in new tab for full size picture.)

The pictures below are of the Kimberley fish. This is a very rare catch made on 2020 by researchers. It was returned to the water unharmed.

Below, click for video. Left, large sleepy cod, right fingerling video.

CULTURE METHOD

The sleepy cod is not suitable for free-range pond culture as they are highly carnivorous and cannibalistic, as well as very territorial. They are able to eat other sleepy cod fingerlings up to half their size. It is necessary to grade fingerlings regularly. It is also possible for the fish to stop feeding on the artificial diet if they are in an open environment. Best culture methods include, tanks (RAS), cages, raceways, and partitioned aquaculture systems (PAS). Weaned fingerlings can be supplied. Weaned fingerlings that have been feeding on pellets are generally past the connibalistic phase, however if not stocked at high densities they will begin to eat each other again. Contact the Perch Man for availability and prices. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.