Hey all, about 6-8 months ago I found a bunch of bully fry in a drying up pool. I caught what I could, released most back into the river and took a bunch home. Most got put into the pond and I believe a couple survived. Some got put into a large container but I thought they had all died since I never saw them again. However since it was full of snails and bugs I left it alone at the bottom of the garden.

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo14 ... 040872.jpg

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo14 ... 040873.jpg

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo14 ... 040874.jpg

Its been basically left untouched all this time, I've looked in it on occasion to see how the snails n such are doing but never seen anything else. Till the other night... As I looked into the bucket I caught a flash of movement. A small 2-3cm bullie! Just the one as far as I can tell, but what a survival story. No pump, no filter, nothing but the bugs and worms in the tub and whatever falls into it, hot weather, cold weather... you name it. I figure I will have to catch the little guy and put him in the pond with the rest of them though.

The ponds doing well too. My Inanga are loving it, the bullies seem happy enough, don't see too many of the crays about but the shrimp are all over the place. I did have some tadpoles in there but they seem to have vanished. I hope to get some more plants up around the top pond this spring, try and reduce the leaf litter falling into the top pond seeing it clogs it up in winter.

What can I say, you guys make them tough in NZ!

Peter

Drat, how do you do those images again...

See if that works...

wow, how cool!

How about some updated photos of your pond too? Neat set up you have there.

Hey Stella, great to hear from you. Its been neat following your adventures with that big girl of yours! I'm so jealous... but then my Ponds not big enough for a fish like that Though I dare say she would love all the plants hanging over hehe.

October last year :

Taken today :

October :

Today :

October (taken from the top looking down) :

Today (looking up from the bottom) :

The Bully :

Take care

Peter

Wow, that is coming along so well!

I think your bully is a little male Cran's The orange stripe in the dorsal is so prominent.

My partner's father is in Stokes Valley and each time I have been down I keep thinking to get in touch with you to go spotlighting, but we have usually had too many other things on (and winter isn't so great for spotlighting). Definitely when things warm up a bit I really want to see your Silverstream site :bounce:

Crans are the ones that don't go to sea right?

P.

yup, them and uplands.

With any luck (depending on what your other fish are) you could get successful breeding in you pond.

Well I put the lil fella in the smaller top pond where I know there is one sizable bully (10cm?) and several others the same size or slightly larger than that one. I assume they are Crans too since they seem to have grown up from the fry. Theres a small crayfish or 2 in there with them. All the Inanga and Goldfish are down in the big pond below, I've seen the Inanga climb to the mid 'mudflats' but never seen them make it up the small waterfall. Given its only about a 10cm height I have no doubt they could do it

I tidied up some of the plants for the spring growth due soon and found a Frog under a log. Another nice surprise

It would be great fun to take you to Silverstream, I haven't been in a while being Winter. I am hoping the excavation work the council was doing hasn't damaged it.

P.