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Her book on Native fish aquariums was what got me thinking about starting a native aquarium hobby. I had a small tank with tropical fish, but my lack of interest in them meant I wasn't keeping completely on top of their maintenance. When I was flicking through the book, I saw the opportunity to make an easy-maintenance microfauna tank, so I stripped the aquarium of it's mechanics and set it up with aquatic plants, snails and shrimp. The 70L tank I am considering would house a few bullies and koura. I would like to add some greenery that can withstand the shredding of the koura, so does anyone know about any local spots to gather Koura-resistant plants?

Hi and welcome. Someone else with lots of excellent advice would be Stella McQueen. She has written several books about native fish keeping but I don't think she is on these forums anymore. She can be found on Facebook though under her own name and New Zealand Native Fish.

shared this on the facebook group after a quick edit to your title

Hi, I have a pair of lyretail guppies & a single platy for sale or would like to trade it with tetras. /cory. pickup location- Upper hutt.can be dropped off in/around Hutt valley if needed. Thanks

I changed my mind gonna do a minnow tank in there, thanks for the response dude.

Im no use on this topic unfortunatley but try searching the forums for articles from the past hopefully you find some useful guidance

Thank you

Sorry I misunderstood. A good write up is here on native feshwater https://aquariumworld.nz/databases/2-new-zealand-native/

Thank you for the advice but I am hoping to create a native freshwater setup.

If you use the search function at the top right of the page you should find information from other users on them The hardest part of breeding them is that the larvae hatch in freshwater then travel downstream to a marine environment for a period before moving back to a freshwater site. MTI have done it with a mention here https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/izy.12007 Try searching breeding paratya curvirostris mahurangi technical institute

I would like to breed them but I am finding conflicted information as to whether or not this is doable in freshwater. The location I get mine from is downstream from the coast by a long river and multiple waterfalls and is in a forest. There are bullies in there with them (unsure what type though we saw a big male that looked like a redfin, others were all small and brown though). It seems strange that they would be able to go up the waterfall for their larvae to end up in the sea (unless there is access to the coast from the other end but there is a lot of space in between if there is). Chatgpt (not reliable I know but good for brainstorming) told me I could breed them in freshwater and keeps saying it's been done by people before in freshwater but has anyone actually done this? I have 9 shrimp atm but will be getting more in November when we go back to that place.

Gonna raise whistling tree frog tadpoles! I think they're super cool. Sadly none for sale near me so I'm gonna get them shipped from Greymouth (to Northland). I've got an ecostyle 47, raised tadpoles before but they were green and golden bell frogs. Going to gradually introduce them to my pond when they start getting back legs. Anyone got tips?

A lot of estuarine habitats are degraded nowadays but because they are flushed daily can still offer up a diverse range of flora and fauna especially the closer you get to the sea, keep looking.

A good start carloctopus is here

Hello, I'm a young budding ecologist and I've recently discovered that its legal to keep native freshwater fish. I have just set up a self-sustaining native microfauna aquarium and it is flourishing with potamopyrgus and paratya shrimp. I'm thinking of setting up a native fish aquarium of about 70L and wouldn't mind some advice on that. I live in Oratia, Auckland so does anyone know what lives around here (I've found common bullies, Koura, shrimp but nothing else in Oratia stream)?

Hey all Im looking too re-home two spotted Gourami that ive had for a couple of months. I thought they would be a good fit in my 150 l tank but as soon as I brought them home they were aggressive. I separated the two and that worked for a while, however recently my white gourami has begun chasing my cory catfish constantly and im sick of the stress. Plus im trying to breed mollys and need the space. pm me if interested, photo of the two attached below. As for gender ive heard mixed responses I bought them believing them to be female, however their behaviour suggests male, honestly if someone here has more experience sexing these guys feel free to drop a response. Located wadestown

Yes they include bracing

When using the calculators, do the calculations include bracing?

I would say this would depend on the behaviors your fish show.

Bullies will eat White Clouds.

Tanks can be resealed ypu tube has some good videos alot of beginners wouldn't attempt it however. Have a look at some videos and make a decision for yourself

Yes there are freshwater shrimp in NZ

You can get f/w teeny shrimp in NZ??

Umm depends where you are they all seem to be top of north island ainthree fish sometimes sells them ( if they are still going) but they are facebook based and will not ship. Sometimes they randomly pop up on trade me

For body and fin rot super clean water and helpful things like tonic salt and Indian almold leaf... but strictly super clean water is the best option. All the best