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Databases compiled from the Ministry of Primary Industries list of Tropical fish allowed to be imported into New Zealand.
Freshwater Fish A toH.
Freshwater Fish I to Z.
Tropical Marine Fish .
Killifish on list
Marine Invertebrates.
Exotic Reptiles and Amphibians
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New Zealand Native Freshwater Fauna
Many thanks to Stella McQueen for providing the data and many of the images for this page. Make sure you purchase her book The New Zealand Native Freshwater Aquarium if you wish to find out more information about keeping these fish.
Special acknowledgment also to Bob McDowell for his extensive work with New Zealand Natives – the source for much of this data.
Banded Kokopu
With a stocky and fat body shape and large head, eye and mouth the Banded kokopu is brown to dark oliver in colour, with thin, vertical, amber stripes that peter our top and bottom. Commonly...
Black Mudfish
Brown, with indistinct markings and a flexibile, cigar-shaped body, short blunt head, small eyes and large mouth the Black mudfish often reaches 9cm in length. However it has been known to...
Bluegill Bully
Slender in shape, the body of the Bluegill bully is much more flexible than other bullies and is brown-black to sandy in colour. The scales have a light centre and dark rim. The mouth...
Brown Mudfish
With a short blunt head, small eyes and large mouth the Brown mudfish has a brown coloured, flexible cigar shaped body, with indistinct markings. The dorsal has six filaments and in the case...
Common Bully
The Common bully has a tapered head with faint 'cat whiskers' under the eye. The body is stocky, stiff and dark brown to sandy, with rgular blotches along the sides and 7-8 dorsal filaments....
Common Smelt
Long and slender in body shape with shimmering silver scales with a light purplish sheen the Common smelt has a small head with large eyes and mouth. Lake fish reach 9-10cm in length.
Cran's Bully
The Cran's bully is sandy to dark brown in colour with dark random markings on its face and a blunt dent behind the eyes. The body shape is stocky (esp. male) and stiff. Often reaches...
Dwarf Galaxias
Small and slender with oliver to brown markings on a greyish background, fairly transparent due to size Dwarf galaxias have a small and blunt head characteristic. These fish reach around 7cm...
Giant Bully
Very dark in colour with loose rows of pale or gold flecks the body of the Giant bully is very stocky and stiff. The head has a tapered profile with a protruding lower jaw and the face has...
Giant Kokopu
Giant Kokopu have a large and fat body shape, becoming even fatter and deeper bodied as large adults. The head, eye and mouth are large and the mouth can open very wide. Dark brown in...
Inanga
Olive and silver in colour, with some leopard-like darker speckling, and translucent the Inanga is a small, slender fish. Often reaches 8-10cm in length.
Koaro
Large and tubular in shape when young, as they matture they become very stocky and far and as large adults also deeper bodied. The Koara has a flattened pointy head - slightly shark like,...
Koura (Northern)
With a typical crayfish shape the Koura (Northern) is a sandy to dark brown colour, sometimes patterned especially on the tail. Some have orange or blue markings.
Longfin Eel
Dark brown to grey-black in colour the Longfin eel has a small head and eyes, and tubular nostrils. The skin on its long tubular, highly flexible body wrinkles freely when the body is...
Redfin bully
With a blunt shaped head and three dark diagonal stripes on the face the body of the Redfin bully is stocky and stiff and has six dorsal filaments. Males show a red colour; some fish are...
Shortfin Eel
The Shortfin eel is a light to dark olive colour. The head and eyes are small and the nostrils tubular. Females are larger than the males, reaching up to 120cm in length compared to...
Shortjaw Kokopu
With a slightly pointed head, undercut jaw and oddly 'doleful' eyes (seriously!) the Shortjaw kokopu is a brownish/olivish, sometime with orange tinting and indistinct mottling colour....
Spotted Eel
With a long and tubular highly flexible body and small head and eyes with tubular nostrils the Spotted eel is an olive green or brownish colour and is distinctly spotty with darker...
Torrentfish
The Torrentfish has a very stiff and solid, yet streamlined body with varying colouration; grey, salt and pepper or browny-orange. The head is very tapered in profile and wide based, with...
Upland Bully
Sandy brown in colour, with pale orange spots on the face, the male Upland bully has a blunt, bulbous head. The body shape is stock (esp. male) and stiff. This fish often reaches 8cm...