The terrestrial locomotor abilities of amphibious fishes have received attention as a model for the water to land transition in vertebrates. Another striking locomotor mechanism found among some amphibious fishes is the ability to climb vertical substrates. In gobioid fishes, climbing is accomplished through two distinct mechanisms: inching and powerburst climbing. Powerburst climbers attach using a pelvic sucker and generate thrust using fins and lateral body bending to climb with short bursts of movement. In contrast, inching climbers use longer, sustained periods of movement, alternating attachment between oral and pelvic suction disks. Although the use of these disks has been recognized in previous studies, how these suction disks attach and detach during the climbing cycle requires further investigation. We predict that the kinematics of the suction disks will be repeatable within the different climbing modes and differ between powerburst and inching climbers. To test this, we tracked the motion of the suction disk throughout the climbing cycle using high-speed video and used geometric morphometrics to quantify the change in shape of the pelvic sucker over time. We found that within each cycle, the powerburst climbers had a highly repeatable pattern of sucker movement: a stationary period for roughly 70% of the cycle followed by a rapid change in shape with the movement of the fish. Inching climbers also experience a change in shape upon body movement, but the point of initial sucker movement is more variable within the cycle. These results suggest that having a second sucker, which allows for continuous contact with the substrate, may allow inching climbers to exhibit a greater kinematic range in their attachment.