Ianab

I would say "it will probably work" There is no 100% guarantee that an Oscar will live with anything, but a small Oscar, big Angels, in big tank, probably 90% chance of it working out. I would still have a plan B, just in case. But as long as your Oscar will tollerate the Angels then it will work. The feeding isn't a big issue as big Oscar just look down their nose at flake food, and leave it to the smaller fish. Mine only eats floating cichlid pellets if it's starving, (not fed for 8 hours) and otherwise leaves them for the pleco to swim upside down and vacum off the surface. :roll: Ian

Or be prepared to line your basement with pond liner and make an indoor pond. Like the guys say, they are available in NZ, I have seen them, know someone that has (had?) a couple. But their adult size is almost a metre, 20kgs... Not saying you cant keep them, but it's above and beyond the normal realms of fish keeping, and into the twilight zone of Monster Fish. Ian

This is one of our 'Pet' Eels. A few bits of old Bacon and it's all go. Ran out of memory stick before the big Eel fight when the big guy arrived. Ian

Yeah.. sorry I'm in the "keen, but just dont have the time to commit" group I suggest we keep in touch via the forum as in the future things may change. But it takes 5 or 6 good keen people, with the time, to get a club started. We just dont have that right now unfortunately. Ian

If they take out those poplar and willows(?) you could plant some native kahikatea trees in the area. Kahikatea is very tolerant of wet condtions, and some flaxes around the wetter parts. That will help attract native birds if nothing else. Other natives will grow higher up away from the water. The leaves with the bug look like Kawakawa which is a small native tree that commonly grows on waste land in town, so you want to encourage that. The councils concern is that willows tend to droop and fall over, blocking natural water channels. Then they back up in heavy rain, flood peoples basements etc. The the council guys get it in the neck for not doing anything. If you can keep a permanant pool in there I'm sure some Eels will make a home there. But good on you for seeing the potential in a little spot like that. Ian

I agree with Whetu. the worst thing that water changes will do is slow down the cycle process, by removing too much ammonia. This wont harm the fish at all. Cycling with fish is a balancing act, you want enough ammonia to start some cycle, but not so much that it harms your fish. So if in doubt, change some water, the tank will still cycle in it's own good time. Ian

Sorry guys, just got home from work so not going to get there tonight. Hope you have a better turn out though, and I am still interested, just not sure how much I can commit to right now. Cheers Ian

Sorry - Guilty as charged for both reasons :oops: It IS marked on the calender now. Billaney, allow about a 4 hour drive from Wellington to New Plymouth, depends on the time of day (Wellington traffic which you will know about) Ian

Sure is. Not what you would normally pick as a haven for rare native fish is it? But as you get upstream further it's pretty much shaded by trees all the way up through the city. Thats where the fish will be hanging out. Also has no trout which is probably a big thing as well. Ian

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/2291999/Rare-native-fish-teeming-stream/ If you know New PLymouth the Houtoki is a is a small stream that flows under the middle of town and into the sea near the Museum. It seems it has a large popuation of Kokopu, both short jawed and giant. The council is redeveloping the stream area near the main street, and is putting in a fish ladder, so that should help maintain the population. I think it's pretty neat that these fish are still living in basiclaly an urban enviroment. Ian

Eels will certainly climb, and the smaller ones seem to just keep going untill they run out of water. Where I grew up was in on the border of Egmont Nat. Park, also about 300m. The small streams there were full of young eels, 15-30cm long. Very shy, you would only find them by flipping over rocks and poking under logs. Water falls are no obstacle to them, give them a nice wet night and they just go overland. We found them above a 10m waterfall at my old farm. Maybe they did overland, but that would be 500m down the road. I live in Stratford, also 300m asl. We have 3 semi-tame eels in the back yard, around 1m long, in a stream that you could jump across with a good run-up. Try feeding your one at dusk. They can get very tame over time and will hand feed once they get used to you. Some raw chicken or beef offcuts will get their attention. Eels are very long lived and you may have the same ones coming to feed for 20-30 years. Ian

Oakura Marae would have been a nice spot, buy the river and beach. I grew up around there, went to the primary school Glad you had a good time. Ian

Over Engineered? .... Possibly :oops: Going to fall down? ... Not in my Lifetime :lol:

Almost.... :oops: Work and young daughter is taking up a lot of time :roll:

Well there is a honking great big mountain to see. It's like 8,000 ft high, you cant miss it, unless it's raining - which is likely. If you want something smaller go and climb Paritutu Rock down by the port. It's only 550ft, but well worth the effort if you aren't afraid of climbing 550 ft rocks. Otherwise go for a drive out the Coast Road (SH45) and check out the beaches and surf breaks. If Drink is your thing - Whitecliffs Brewery, you will pass it on the way in, just Nth of Urenui. Stop there for some supplies. Sentry Hill Winery is another option, their Boysenberry wine goes great with Icecream. Last resort - find someone to take you native fish hunting Ian