Stella

:lol: That sounds like effective contraception!

Bullies are so cool in the aquarium, really active and such characters! food: Live aquatic insects, as Enzoom1 said, but winter is not exactly a great time for finding such things. Frozen bloodworm are great as they look alive in the water and are a good food for attracting the newly-captured fish. I find bloodworm is NOT a good staple food for fish, I used to think it was wonderful, but they just don't put on as much size as they should have been. My latest favourite for all my natives is frozen heart meat. Highly nutritious and cheap. (that said, bullies do not grow quickly, but if fast growing fish like juvenile kokopu can't put on much size with bloodworm, then I figure it isn't that great for bullies either.) They can become quite tame and eat out of your hands, if you are patient. As for the aquarium itself, they are bottom dwelling, so you want as much ground area as possible. Lots and lots of rocks and hiding places. Bullies can be territorial. They can also be like cats, wanting to perch high up to survey their surroundings. You will find the most dominant bully spends most of its time on a particular rock high up, or higher in the water column than the other fish.

Snorkel - thanks for sharing that! Always neat hearing about these critters in the wild (and I don't know that my love of natives could convince me to go swimming....! Much though being greeted by waving nippers sounds cool! :lol: ) I read the lake ones hang out deeper during the day, out of sight of surface predators, then come up higher at night, even out of the water and onto the beaches. The old Maori way of catching them by sinking bundles of bracken into lakes is very clever. Crays love to hide but there are hardly any plants in lakes with crays (they eat them all!). Sink a whole lot of bracken and they all hide in it during hte day. Pull up the bracken and pick out they crays for a BBQ Livingart - well tell that to Bob McDowall who has had my book for a MONTH and I am starting to get impatient Though it is nice having a forced break from writing.

bullies are a little more at risk from crays as they sit on the bottom most of the time. Crays are also at risk from other crays..... they tend to eat each other. Go for small crays (I find 7cm plus is about the size they start to become more of a threat). It can work having a couple, but any more than one is a risk they will eat each other. And as you found out, everything native is an escape artist, make sure you have seriously good lids, and use tape to fill in any gaps. The main key to getting natives of any species to mix well is LOTS of hiding places and as much ground area as possible. With getting big bullies, remember smaller (and therefore younger) fish adjust much easier to captivity than big ones. I would go for 6cm-ish and less. Try setting up over winter, that way things will be settled, adjusted and used to everything before you get into the temperature issues over summer. Some kind of cooling is a must, be it ice, fan 24/7, chiller or air cond. So cool seeing more and more people getting into native fish!

there is a really handy add-on to the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer called the Image Resizer. It is a little program you download and it gives the option, when you right click on a photo, to resize it (small, medium, large or custom). It is simple to install and use, and the BEST thing is you can't accidentally resize your original, it always makes a new, smaller version. You can download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Down ... rtoys.mspx (fifth from the bottom)

IT was so cool to see you guys again (and meet new people in some instances!). I had a really enjoyable time, and always fun showing off the tanks Foxglove, I will SO be there for the native fish hunt!

I always say that if it is going to cost more for them to please call and check with me first. As a dental assistant we are always doing estimates for people, but they are always based on what it MIGHT cost. Once we actually get in there things can change quite dramatically so can the cost. (We make sure people know that first.) Cars would be similar, once you start taking bits apart you may find the problem is worse. But still no matter how often you say ESTIMATE you always have the odd selectively deaf person who doesn't listen, or only hears the lowest figure. Shadowfax, I'm pleased it is being sorted in your favour

OK then.... how about this order of ceremonies: Both clubs make their way to Palmy, visit WetPets, find sustenance and aim to be at my place at 1pm, thence to Bilbo's. I haven't heard back from the marine guy yet....

I had a group of nine from Forest and Bird the other weekend. It was a workable number but many more and it would have got particularly squashy. They were here for about 1hr 20mins, got the full guided tour and asked many interesting questions. I was originally thinking to have both groups here at once, so I am not repeating myself and so everyone gets to hear everything (and mingle with the other clubs), but maybe it would work better to do it semi-seperately? If HB is aiming to come to my place around 1pm would KM like to come earlier? Of course anyone exceedingly interested in the natives are welcome to stay as long as they like if the others want to go off and see something non-native ;-) I will leave it up to both parties to decide if they wish to visit Bilbo. He is 20 minutes out of town and this may or may not fit into their plans and timing. I hear he has some pretty interesting stuff though I contacted the marine guy but haven't heard back from him yet, hopefully I will and there will be a trip to his place. Sorry it has got a bit chatic... Rather hard not having a club here so I can bully people into doing things Just had Mike Joy (*major* freshwater ecologist and native fish scientist) looking at my tanks tonight, he said they are the best he has seen Still bouncing from that! :bounce:

AJ Broome used to be very much into killies. Not so much now, but I daresay a wealth of knowledge if you are looking for that!

my sympathies, Caryl! I had a bag stolen from work a few years ago, you really learn to become paranoid about your gear after that. I love the thing about the sexpo bag! The only thing I kept from the one here was the fire-and-brimstone flyer some nutter gave me on the way in, it was just too great to throw away! Seems I am doomed On the other hand, after hearing so many people recently 'embellishing' thier insurance claims, good on you for being one of the few honest people left! :-?

well neither freshly hatched brine shimp nor tiny daphnia were small enough. I figure feeding them strained pond water would probably work, many very tiny critters in that.

Well most of them hatched, over a few days. I think they lived a couple of weeks but died off, getting food small enough for them seemed to be the problem Oh well, interesting to see anyway. Ballistic, what size did you get them to? Redfin bullies are supposed to go to sea, would be interesting to know how yours did.

there are more things in the water than pH, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate that can affect the fish. What is the new water picking up on its way to the tap? What is it stored in? What is it collected on? You tested the pH but not the hardness. Rainwater would typically be very soft, bore water would be anything depending on where it came through. Are you not able to continue to use bore water for the tanks? Did you add any fish AFTER the tank was well established but BEFORE the change to rainwater was made? How did they go? What water things do guppies particularly not like but the other fish are fine with? I don't mean for you to answer all these, just different ways of thinking might help you figure it out. Good luck!

GREEN GINGER WINE!!!! Over winter when doing waterchanges I tend to have one arm in the tank utterly freezing, a hot water bottle under the other arm (the burning kinda counteracts the freezing of the other arm) and a green ginger wine sitting on top of the tank. Best thing for a sore throat too.

anything with chilli or curry! Hot on two levels

Inspire.net has often won the Net Guide best ISP awards. I have no idea what sort of plan I am on or what they have available, but they give EXCELLENT service.

I always thought 'critter' meant something small and 'creepy-crawlie'... Thanks to Dictionary.com: crit·ter (krĭt'ər) n. Informal 1. A living creature. 2. A domestic animal, especially a cow, horse, or mule. 3. A person. Critter, a pronunciation spelling of creature, actually reflects a pronunciation that would have been very familiar to Shakespeare: 16th- and 17th-century English had not yet begun to pronounce the -ture suffix with its modern (ch) sound. This archaic pronunciation still exists in American critter and in Irish creature, pronounced (krā'tŭr) and used in the same senses as the American word. The most common meaning of critter is "a living creature," whether wild or domestic; it also can mean "a child" when used as a term of sympathetic endearment, or it can mean "an unfortunate person." In old-fashioned speech, critter and beast denoted a large domestic animal. The more restricted senses "a cow," "a horse," or "a mule" are still characteristic of the speech in specific regions of the United States. The use of critter among younger speakers almost always carries with it a jocular or informal connotation. The things you learn!

You are extremely unlikely to see native snails in gardens, but people frequently see a little (up to 1-1.5cmish) snail with a flat shell and a thin blue-grey body. I think it is a South African import. I can't remember the name sorry. There was definitely trouble winding down and sleeping afterwards!

Last night some friends and I donned gumboots and warm clothing, armed with torches, sticks and cameras, went into an area of native bush looking for native snails (Powelliphanta traversi tararuensis in this case) Never done it before, but I had spotted one in the area randomly before. This was a purposeful expedition. We found quite a few! I think I found two, two guys found four each (I think) and one guy found none. (We got quite compettitive with this of course...! Take a bunch of adults critter hunting and they all turn into big kids )We all found about two shells each, they get washed down by the rain so were fairly easy to find. (it is illegal to take native snails or their empty shells) We also started turning logs and stones. I was very excited to find some peripatus (velvet worms) a tiny thing that looks crossed between a worm and a caterpillar but it neither. They are an evolutionary missing link, unchanged for billions of years and I think are supposedly ancestor to all insects..... kewl! They are carnivorous, shooting their prey with super-sticky immobilising goo from two head-mounted propulsion devices. They then suck the insides out while the critter is still alive.... I now have three sitting beside me in a chinese takeaways container.... And we found two enormous native worms. They were very muscular! Amazing to hold. They were about 1cm thick and the torch in the photo is 17cm long.

The bullies will be fine in room temperature water for the moment, but you may need to think about cooling over summer. Most indoor aquaria would be over 20 degrees naturally in summer, which is a bit much for the fish long term. Bullies are generally a lot hardier than most other native when it comes to temperatures, but still do stress in the heat. Do you know which type/s you have? Smelt are pretty easy to identify, they are very silvery, have a purple sheen down their sides and they have scales. Inanga can look very similar, particularly from above, but they don't have scales, they are quite see-through in places. With giant kokopu, they are on the threatened species list (in the gradual decline category). This doesn't mean you can't take them, but think very carefully about the ethics and conservation issues. Make sure you have a very good idea of what they require and *especially* know that you can keep the tank suitably cool over summer. Obviously taking very young fish is much more appropriate and more fair on the fish (juveniles adjust much easier). It is possible to pick kokopu out as whitebait, but it is also possible to go blind in the process Charles Mitchell, the 'whitebait farmer' in Raglan, sells juvenile giant kokopu for aquaria. Mine came from him. He can charge a lot for them, but at least you know it is about as legit as it gets. Good to know that your eel is doing better! How are his fins coming along?

I used to worry about that, but DOC was very helpful with sorting out the wording of the legalities for my book, so I take that as a sign that they don't have issue with it There are probably too many issues for them to fully protect native freshwater fish. The top three (in no particular order) being: 1: Maori customary use 2: Trout food 3: Whitebaiting

Very interesting thread! Such important stuff. SpidersWeb made a very good point about drip loops. For those who don't know what they are imagine a drip of water running down a power cable. If it can run straight down to the socket: bad news. If the cable is looped so the drip can't run straight down (drips can't run uphill!) then it is much safer. Just looking at my multiboard under my riffle tank now.... scary. I really must do something about it! Far too much chance of zappage from a minor overflow! The multiboard is merely sitting on a low shelf under the tank, all cables run directly down to it. I should put in a few screws so it is mounted higher up. Immediate drip-loops and safe from pooling water. Ok, what other quick fixes can we do to help not get zapped? Early, simple prevention. What are the most common causes of shocks to the aquarist?

Woohoo native tanks! Great to see more interest! What sort of fish do you have? :bounce: I don't bother with plants in my tanks. Reasons: A: Not enough light (I like them low-light to look more natural) B: No submerged plants in the habitats I am recreating anyway. And mostly the fish are not inclined to hide in them, my experience anyway. They prefer to be under things, rather than in. ROCKS ROCK! the more the merrier. Heaps of places to hide. However one neat trick I learned is to use ponga or bracken fern. It stays green for ages and don't break down. Mine lasted 1.5 months looking healthy and green then slowly the brown algae took over and the plant died off. It is looking a bit ratty and covered in algae now, but really it looks better in my eyes. Much more natural and fits the sluggish bush stream habitat theme I am going for. Anyway, it is convenient for providing a bit of cover without taking up as much space as rocks. Good for a in-tank background too. Not exactly what you were after though.... I can't link to my photobucket photos of my tanks just now (site maintenance), but do check out my picasa gallery linked in my sig

Oh hell, not off to a good start :oops: sorry Ryan. Also Shadowfax now has something else on that day. So that leaves Olly, BIlbo (who is about 20 minutes out of town, which made sense when the others were invovled) and the marine tank guy that Peter from Wet Pets has spoken to. Ok, seriously, how much interest is there in a general tank crawl, how much is just in visiting me (and Wet Pets)? Would anyone pull out if there is not much of a tank crawl? Or would you prefer no tank crawl? Please be honest, I won't sulk How long does it take to get from the Hawke's Bay to here? I thought it was three hours... maybe that is from there to Wanganui. What time makes more sense to you?