Romeo

RE Dixon Well, I would, but as to the forum regulations we're not allowed to organise bulk purchases. I'll see what Vince says and what his minimum batch is - hopefully he'll make a one off exception for us. Shipping Imagine the shipping requirements, they'd all have to be separated or you'd open your package and there'd only be ONE BIG FAT Koura.

Success, of such... Vince Skully of Kaikoura, a Koura farmer, has just got back to me saying he'd be happy to sell me Koura for my aquarium. He's checked with the Ministry of Fisheries and Doc, and they're happy to let him sell them on the pre-condition that I don't release them. They're the Northern species of Koura, and the native Christchurch version is the Southern species. So releasing a Northern one would have all sorts of horrific implications - I guess. The one problem is that they're $100 a kilo (20 individuals)! That's the going rate for table (grown for the top-end cuisine market) koura, and as you can imagine it's not really worth shipping small batches due to the requirements of packaging and all the extra leg work. So I've asked if he's keen to do a one off, I'm not too hopeful, but we'll see how it goes and I'll keep you updated. Needless to say, if someone wants 19 Koura I'll happily sell them to you ;s (Though, it's probably illegal to even sell farmed Koura without a permit, so, erm, damnit!).

Ripped straight off the net... Well that's what the Internet says, but in reality it's probably a different case altogether!

Wouldn't you rather save one from the dinner plate, rather than take him from his natural environment ! JKs, that's the only way I can justify buying one - that and the fact that I CAN'T find one in Christchurch

RE Dixon Wouldn't it be easier just to go and fish one out of the Koura Farmers tank ;P? But yea, I guess you're in it for the thrill of the hunt - me, I just want that damn Koura!

Update: Just got an email from Niwa (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research) saying they've got a contact in Kaikoura who farms them, and they'll contact him on my behalf. Now THAT'S service from a government organisation! Failing this, they suggested I try the Koura farm in Alexandra, but it's not listed anywhere? Also, the Koura farm in Blenheim have failed to get back to me. I guess it wasn't worth their financial gain.

RE Spoon Oh right, they're pretty hardy then! But they'll be more active and happy in warmer water right? We're not going to shorten their lifespan by any great margin by heating the water to 16°c are we? PS: Since we got the new goldfish the other one's really happy. They spend most of their time cuddling together and following each other around, it's pretty cute.

Cool, thanks. She's had the heater on for about 20 minutes and the two goldfish are hovering right beside it. So I guess that says something ;D. 16°c it is, I don't think she has room for any more fish in there so that'll do until she can get a bigger tank.

Hey, My girlfriend's got two goldfish, both fantails about 4cm long. The tank is 31*20*20, so about 9-10 litres excluding substrate and other bits and pieces. The short story What temperature will her goldfish be comfortable at? The lowest setting is 16°c. The long story Anyways, we went to get her second goldfish yesterday from a private seller, and all of his goldfish were really active and looked really happy. Turns out his tank was set at 29°c! So that got me thinking about my girlfriends goldfish, he seemed pretty sluggish and just sat at the bottom all day. So we threw my 50w heater in and set it at it's lowest setting, 16°c. It took probably 3-4 hours to climb up to that temperature from an ambient of 11°c. He seemed pretty happy around 14°c, quite active and stuff, but when it got to about 15/16°c he started darting around, panicking and panting pretty hard - so we turned it off. It's now the morning and the tank's at 8°c. They're back to mooching on the bottom, doing nothing. Is 16°c too hot for them? Are we raising it too quickly? What's the deal? Cheers, Romeo

Doh, I'll try and attach that fern to the wood then. It's a bit of a mission though, as the tank water is only 8°c! It's painful just to try and put a single piece in ;s!

Nevermind, got an awesome one of Spoon. Thanks man!

Spoon invited me over for a wee look around today. Ended up leaving with one of his tank lamps, a handful of Java Fern and half a dozen little shrimps (2 big ones)! So big thanks to Spoon, he's got a pretty cool setup there, tanks all over the place! The shrimps he gave me are SO cool. They're all swimming around doing their own little thing, cleaning the wood and picking at the gravel - I've been watching them for a few hours and they're a laugh a minute ;D. Here's an updated photo, now with Java Fern and little shrimpies.

LOL, wow, that's a powerful beam you've got there! I can just envision a future "HELP, my fish act as if they're blind!" post ;P.

I would HAPPILY buy it off you - that's perfect!

Ah true, good call. I'll have to shop around. I've had a look in most of the Christchurch pet shops and they're ALL over $100 (even the wee baby ones!). The low power use appealed to me though. Do you have any more suggestions for what I could use?

Hey, does anyone have any experience with one of these units? Here's the stats: Also, shipping's from Auckland and the total price is $53 including shipping. Is this a fair price? I want the lamp for my Koura tank - will this do? Will it catch on fire, get destroyed in transit or just be a bad idea? Will it put out much heat and how much power will it use if it's on for 5 or so hours a day? Will it look right on my 80cm tank? Cheers, Romeo

Thanks for all the responses, I'm really hyped up about getting my Koura. Stella I'm really gutted that I haven't been able to find one in CHCH, it's really made me think about the whole pollution thing to be honest. I'd love to find one, but it's just not possible? The satisfaction of finding one would be beyond what you'd expect for such a trivial thing. It's bizarre... Thanks for the tip about putting weed in with it, that's such a logical thing but I wouldn't have thought of it?! Regarding the Koura farm, I've only been able to find one, and that's in Blenheim. But they only sell to the cuisine industry I think? I'll give them a phone tomorrow, but if you know of ANY others I'd love to hear them! Supasi Thanks for the tip about the seat, that's a good one! I was just going to throw it in the back seat and strap it in, but your method will be much safer. Also, I guess I'll need a lid on that bucket right ;s. Don't want my Koura escaping and getting under the brake pedal, crashing the car, then crawling into the nearest stream. Spoon Thanks, you can be sure that'll I'll be searching through ALL the streams I can get to! So, my current status is... - Phoning Koura farms seeing if they're willing to ship for the pet industry. - Looking for Shrimp, but NO luck. - Waiting to get to Hanmer for the weekend. - If all of this fails and I can't get a Koura, I'll look at heading out to Lake Coleridge, 100+ KMs out of Christchurch. If anyone's interested in getting a Koura you'd betting speak up now, because I *might* be able to get you one from Hanmer - but NO PROMISES! //EDIT: There's a bit of good information on here about Koura, stocking ratios, good temperatures and other bits and pieces. http://services.niwa.co.nz/pubs/au/au/29/koura.htm

RE Spoon Yeah man that sounds cool, me and the GF went there about 9pm and it was all locked up - doh! I haven't heard anything about the groynes so wasn't too sure, but it seems to feed into the Waimak, so that's a more likely spot than the spring fed, polluted, silty streams in town. RE Supasi Thanks a LOT, I'll scope it out with Google Maps (Hanmer) - can you have a look and try and pinpoint it for me? PS: I *tried to* model my tank on yours, yeah right! But yeah, your tank is bloody gorgeous! Transporting What's the best way to transport any Koura that I catch in Hanmer, 150KM away? Should I buy a little pump from the petshop and use that? A bucket with a lid and wrap a seatbelt around it?

Hey Stella, No one at the petshops has heard of them. Unfortunately most of our streams/creeks are all polluted and silty. There's really not a lot of rocks or anything down here either - it's all just silt and a few small stones. I haven't looked in the Waimak yet, it's a pretty huuuuge river. Worth a go, but it'll be a pretty epic mission to do that one. I might put up a post on TradeMe communities asking if anyone knows where there's a spot. Failing that, I'm going to give this company in Blenheim a call, they do live koura for the cuisine industry. Maybe I'll be able to sway them into sending me a batch down. I've probably already spent $100 on gas just driving around all these bloody streams! So buying one and getting it shipped down is probably the cheapest option ;[. I'm going to Hanmer springs with my GF next weekend, and she's promised to let me drag her out Koura hunting - isn't she great ;D. RE Dixon That's a good link you sent! I'll have a damn good look through that tonight - thanks. Maybe we could go 50/50 in a batch of Koura if the place in Blenheim's willing to ship ;]

No luck yet, it's pretty gutting really. I just can't find one in Christchurch! All the creeks/streams/rivers are full of garbage and there's NO life in them. The occasional eel is all I'm rewarded with... Here's my map of where I've been and where I'm going.

Thanks for the support all, I've changed my plans now and want to have: - 1 Koura - 5 Shrimp - 2 Mussels I'm not really all that keen on fish for some reason, I don't know why? Though I may just have got my GF interested in keeping natives aswell, so here's hoping she gets Koura Fever also. RE Temp The water is currently at 8°c, is that low enough? RE Dixon Thanks for quitting on the bidding, I've now got my dream tank setup and hopefully tonight it'll have it's very first resident. I'm dragging the GF out Koura hunting tonight! That bit of wood's not for sale anymore, as I cut it up for my tank ;D. RE Stella That wood is the most dense wood I've ever seen, I now know why it sinks! About the caves, I've actually got a couple of caves hidden under the big bit of wood. One at the front, and a big one underneath it. I figured that since I'm only getting one Koura I wouldn't need a whole lot. I'll keep you updated if I get a Koura tonight, I've already picked a name aswell - but I'll save that for later ;] Cheers, Romeo

Thanks, it was originally 1 huge piece but I cut it into 3 - took me 45 minutes of constant sawing! It's even got a wee cave underneath for my future Koura ;D

Finally got my tank setup in my room. Here it is, awaiting it's first resident - apologies for the poor lighting, it's only temporary I swear!

Sorry Whetu, I'm just being a bit pedantic about my first tank. There's nothing worse than getting it all together and setup with 100kgs of water and then realising "Hey, if only I'd put a bit more effort into that..." Well, I think it's worth it! I only posted my "instructions" because there may be other people out there in my position (completely clueless) who may benefit from it. I guess it's just common knowledge for the more experienced aquariumists. PS: I'm actually a software developer, I guess that explains the meticulous nature!

I'm sure double sided tape would be a far better option if you've already got your 150kg+ tank pressed up against the wall with an inch of room behind! Though I must say, I was very impressed with how well the water method came out, it looked professional! Has a mirror finish on the back it's that smooth ;D.