Stella

So, I went spotlighting last night, and here are photos, as promised I stayed at a DOC camp on Puhi Puhi Road, and surveyed the nearby Clifford/Puhipuhi confluence: http://goo.gl/maps/3VE67 Arrived late and took a quick reconaissanse trip down to the stream as it was getting dark. Within 2m of where I started looking, there was a FISH! They were so easy to spot against that awful streamery algae. They had this funny idea that it was a good place to hide, but it made them stand out really clearly. I am fairly sure they are Canterbury galaxias, aka common river galaxias aka Galaxias vulgaris, rather than koaro, because of distribution, size, and that the head is much less broad and pointed, jaw less undercut, and the markings less well-defined. The range was around 60-100mm Exciting! A new species for me No other fish or crayfish seen but there were plenty of these guys. (BTW, rubber dishwashing gloves are fantastic when playing in cold streams!)

[quote="SamH" Kaikoura, where the Koura are kai

Sorry, been a bit distracted Going fishing tonight hopefully, will post photos if I find anything. Currently sitting in an Irish pub somewhere near Kaikoura. :cofn:

Thanks! BTW if you or anyone else wants to take me fishing I would be most keen! Native fish, sports fish or coarse fish - I need to learn all about them too for my next book. I am on the east coast till the end of the year

Hi guys! long time no post :oops: So I got to the South Island yesterday, and within 12 hours of arriving Caryl and Joe took me spotlighting! It was this teeny shallow stream very close to the beach at White's Bay, near Blenheim, and it was PACKED with banded kokopu! I didn't take many photos, but I did get a couple of these neat mutants: This was the biggest one we (Caryl) caught. I have drawn around the edges of the lower fins to make them more clear. The one with a black line is closer to the size that these fins should be, though it ought to be rounder. What I think caused this was ABRASION on the stones! The water was so very shallow that a fish this size (~15cm, but they can get to 25cm) would have had to power partially out of the water over the stones in order to get anywhere! The edges of the fins were rather thickened, which is what makes me think this was abrasion rather than injury or infection. The dorsal, anal and tail fins were fine, as it is the lower four fins that they 'walk' on. This is a teeny banded, probably was a whitebait a couple of months ago. It didn't look like there was any physical damage, the tail was healthy, just seriously bent! It is possible that this was caused by trematode parasites (there were heaps in some of the other bandeds we caught). Check out this paper about malformations in a related species, the photos are amazing! http://www.eeid.cornell.edu/Trematodes%20in%20fish.pdf

I have been in the South Island less than 12 hours and already gone spotlighting! :happy1: Thanks Caryl and great to meet you Joe!

Do I dare?

book is coming along WELL! I am learning so much and having a great time travelling around meeting scientists and fish. I know I have been slack posting photos here, but I have been posting them to my fishy facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Zeal ... 1091536561 or search 'New Zealand Native Fish' I hit the South Island in a week - look out! :digH:

Indeed, trophic cascades are waaaay trippier than they first appear!

lol random! Wonder how it appeared in my latest posts? Maybe I actually time travelled for a moment....! coooooooooooooool :spop:

Try again McDowall, R. M. (1996). "Volcanism and freshwater fish biogeography in the northeastern North Island of New Zealand." Journal of Biogeography 23(2): 139-148. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2699.1996.00960.x/abstract

awww that is sad. Funny how their behaviour changes after a moult. I think the sudden increase in size goes to their head and they become rather full of themselves.

I have often wondered about substrate embedded in resin, like these: You could make a piece or pieces separately, then be able to remove them later. Somehow...

Knowledge is power: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/ichthyophthirius

OMG so glad I was fishing from a nice safe boardwalk! Admittedly I touched it as little as possible for fear of poison spines or something nasty. (people wade barefoot?! Water here is COLD!)

I humbly beg for forgiveness :oops: At the estuary I also saw some small shortfins, little mullet and something wrassy. To be honest the weather and/or campsite has not been conducive to spotlighting. HOWEVER I also have some really good common bully photos to upload from last night's spotlighting, and Mon/Tues/Wed I will be going out mudfishing with Northland's native fish guru! :happy1: Have also been researching lots and getting bits written on my book. Do you want updates or do you want book?

OMG "Crapatalus"?! BEST NAME EVER!! I am so happy I found this fish! :rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :slfg: :sml1: :cofn:

I found this while spotlighting in an estuary near Cape Reinga this week Looks like some kind of benthic lie-and-wait predator. They were very fast, and inclined to dash off in directions that my freshwater natives don't usually dash off in. Took a while to catch one!

I saw some of the eggs under a microscope. HUUUUUGE eyes (like with all fish eggs) and seriously cute when they move.

Try your local university (biology area) or museum.

I had a 'pond' tank for a while. It was a 3ft tank with thick peat in the bottom, leaf litter, wood, leaves, aquatic plants and every so often I would throw in aquatic bugs from ponds and troughs and see what became self-sustaining populations. It was against a window, so the basis of the ecosystem was sunlight and peat decomposition. It was not the prettiest, but I found it fascinating, and was actually able to harvest daphnia over summer! When I finally dismantled the tank it turned out there were several bullies (native fish) in there that must have been fry when they went in. Just a random different idea.

Interesting observations indeed! With a size difference you are unlikely to get them to accept each other. It can happen but is rare. How big is the tank? If you want to try again I would suggest taking the aggressor out of the tank for a while, rescaping, then reintroducing them. That way the current aggressor becomes the unwanted invader, might turn the tables a little. basically, if you want to have more than one cray together, you should start from a point of expecting one to become food at some point.

After the latest escapade, I have tucked a spare key into my bootlaces. I haven't needed to use it yet, but it is a relief having it there!

I certainly hope so! He lives in the South Island and I will stay with him at the end of the year when finishing up both my book and my current travel plans. I will try not to hero-worship too obviously I took him out fish-hunting a few months ago in New Plymouth, really nice man!

Well I have just about sold out completely of my first book (I will reprint later in the year) and on the strength of that I have been asked to write a fieldguide to the freshwater fishes of New Zealand! :smln: The photographer is Rod Morris (wooo!) and publisher is New Holland! I have been finding the people there fantastic to deal with, and am really looking forward to learning the process of working with a publisher and editor. The contract is all signed and the writing is underway. The cover below is just me being silly, but you will probably recognise the series, it is in every bookshop, museum shop and conservation-y visitors' centre in the country! (I did put in a request though that the cover HAD to be a native fish, otherwise I wouldn't be able to show my face in fishy circles again) The only unfortunate part is you will have to wait till December next year to get a copy, but at least it will make it easy to choose what you want for xmas!