snorkelboy

bug tank!??? hmmm.... white clouds. one of my favourite fish. i'll get some more!

thank you! all sorted now. hydra is a rotten little sod lindeloo. came from my outdoor pond. grrrr.

i am keeping some small bristlenose in a tank. at first they were doing really well, but now they are loosing condition and a cple have died. hydra have now appeared in the tank. any ideas on this? i am sure the hydra are causing these fish trouble.

A single white spot usually means dead fish in the future. Do you quarantine your new arrivals? I always do. Bullies from the wild are just about certain to have white spot disease. A bare tank is the best way to quarantine and also treat the dreaded white spots.

Wow, man those are cool pics!

What an achievement. You rock! Congatulations to the people behind the scenes as well, a great effort.

Thank you Super Simon, thank you Stella. I have a 1500mm X 500mm X 500mm quarantine tank setup in my freezing cold garage that has been running for a week now. The water is the same lake water that I'm planning on capturing the smelt from. Town supply here comes from the lake just off the main lakefront beach, so I'm hoping the change will not be to great for the smelt. Planning on getting a dozen or so. Spotlite and a scoop net hopefully will do the trick. Smelt were introduced into Lake Taupo about a hundred or so years ago to prop up a failing rainbow trout fishery. It sort of worked, and now smelt are the main food source for the trout. I have never kept them before and do not know very much about them at all. They do, it seems, gather in numbers at certain times of the year to spawn close to the shoreline. There life cycle I know nothing about. I wonder if any studies have been done on them at all? When rainbow trout were introduced they grew to tremendous sizes, rapidly, and the fishing for them quickly became world reknown. However it did not last, what they were feeding on, was soon exhausted and the trout became pathetic specimens. The trout were culled by netting in the millions in order to bring back a balance of sorts, but it was not successful. In the end, smelt were introduced in an attempt to restore a balance. Apparently this has worked. A interesting ecological balance has evolved in this lake that is completely man made! Trout running up rivers, spawning, dropping back to the lake, feeding on smelt. Smelt spawning along the lake edge. All very interesting. I cant help wonder what those early trout were feeding on that grew them to such tremendous sizes? Will keep you posted on the sucess or otherwise of the captive smelt program. Stella, the Giant Bully is doing great. A well loved fish indeed! Hopefully, the smelt will co-exist with him in a peacefull manner and the smelt will add a bit more interest to the tank.

Is anyone keeping smelt in captivity here? I am considering capturing some and keeping them in a 300 liter tank that has a giant bully in it. What would they require?

If experianced fishkeepers are saying the display sux, then it sux. Do not be offended. It is very difficult to set up a beautiful display tank. Some people can do it, most people have no show. I am hopeless, and my tanks look pathetic, like the vast majority. Karaori Wildlife Sanctuary is a fantastic place. Lucky you!

Bloodworm?

I have a giant bully that has been captive for 26mths now. I am wondering how long it will live? What fish have you got and how old are they?

Please report back with success or otherwise of the hole drilling night.

Thanks guys, very interesting. My tank is 10mm and assembled. :-?

I am considering drilling a hole thru my tank. Up high as an overflow to remove surface scum. Has anyone done this? How?

Two part epoxy paints last for years on boat hulls. Mitre ten mega, Bunnings are the cheapest places to look fot them.