Aquila

If you strap them, then don't strap them vertically if that makes sense. A vertical strap will put too much pressure on the top lip on the tank and wil most likely end up with a broken pane. Place the strap horizontally around the tank so that pressure is spread evenly around all 4 sides.

Sorry, I wasn't meaning to direct that at you. I was just stating it in general because some people seemed to still be stuck on killing. Nice of you to give your bung fighter a home regardless of his shortcomings;P

+1 Culling doesn't just mean killing...it refers to selectively removing individuals from the population (aka gene pool) regardless of the reason you are doing it. You may be breeding for a specific trait, need more room, fish is too old, or sick etc. But it doesn't always mean that the fish is substandard or there is even anything wrong with it. You can do this by selling less desirable fish, giving them away, killing them, feeding them to bigger fish, etc.

Hey, let me know when you are going next! I'd love to join you

Great work Simon! Horizons is normally really good about this stuff, so hopefully they will come down on them and enforce the consent conditions. I also sent you an email. Cheers, Milena

Congrats on finding such a great home Sky!

At this stage, you are allowed to give the native fish away to other aquarium hobbyists if they've bred in your tank. You can inquire with Ministry of Fisheries about it if you're really keen...they might give you a threshhold for the amount of fish and frequency you can sell them before you are considered a 'fish farm'. Secondly, you can enquire at the cost and requirements of obtaining a fish farm lisence, it may not be as much as you think.

Hi, my friend needs to get one for some experiments...where is the best place to find them cheap?

Do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing if you can get that far south!

Fairgo/Target? You could be famous

I find that aeration is important. Some people have success raising them from eggs in a 40L tank, but I hatch my eggs out in a 2L bottle with methalyne blue and an airstone. I transfer the fry into a 10L tank with sponge filter only once the fry are free-swimming and feed as often as i can (its easier for the fry to find the food in a smaller tank). I start on whiteworms and switch to live bbs.

Siamese algae eaters are the best at eating it. Once they get bigger, they WILL NOT get lazy...but WILL eat fish food because there wont be any black beard algae left!

Can't wait!~

Cheers I've posted it, so can someone please sticky the other post? By the way, Natasha and I are patiently awaiting your book. Is it available for sale yet? It'd be a great resource to recommend to people who inquire!

Edit 10/01/202 Technically, under the indigenous freshwater fish amendment act (proposed by the Green Party and passed by parliament in 2019), all native fish must be immediately released unharmed to the waterways they were taken from, unless: taken for food, or with authorisation from the Dept. of conservation. Section 27ZHB I regularily have to deal with inquires from the public about this sort of thing, so I have summarized some points below: "Approval is required from the Ministers of Conservation under 26ZM (3) and/or Fisheries under 26ZM(2) of the Conservation Act 1987 to transfer and/or release any live aquatic life into freshwater." The terms ‘live aquatic life’ and “freshwater” are defined in the Conservation Act. The Department of Conservation made a policy decision that section 26ZM(3) of the Conservation Act does not apply to species being transferred or released into artificial aquaria. The process for obtaining these approvals is outlined in section 26ZM of the Conservation Act and involves environmental impact assessment, public notification and consultation. Application forms and information are available from your local DOC office." Garden ponds are considered to be 'artificial aquaria' as long as they are relatively small (becomes a gray area when considering larger ponds on farmland, semi-rural, or lifestyle blocks) and are not connected to natural waterways or situated on floodplains where habitants or tank/pond water are at risk of being flushed into a natural system. It is under your discretion to assess this risk but you can request someone from DoC to do a site visit if you are unsure. Regulation 71 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations 1983 allows whitebait, or eels, or other indigenous fish to be taken for the purposes of scientific research or for the purposes of human consumption except where prohibited or controlled by other statutory provisions or regulations: - The Whitebait Fishing Regulations 1994 and the Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994 govern the taking of whitebait. You cannot lawfully take whitebait outside the whitebait season without approval from the Department of Conservation. Whitebait are defined as being the young or fry of Galaxias maculatus (inanga): Galaxias brevipinnis (koaro): Galaxias argenteus (giant kokopu); Galaxias postvectis (short jawed kokopu): Galaxias fasciatus (banded kokopu), and Retropinna retropinna (smelt). Make sure the gear you use for collection is also allowable. Season for this area runs from Aug. 15 - Nov. 30. See http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/par ... tebaiting/ for further information. - If the species you wish to collect is protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 then you need approval from DOC (no freshwater fish are protected species but some invertebrates are). See schedule of protected species for a list of protected species in NZ. If a species is not protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and it is not illegal to collect under any other legislation e.g. Biosecurity Act (e.g. unwanted organisms), Freshwater Fisheries Regulations (e.g. Noxious fish), Conservation Act (e.g. Restricted Fish), and then you can collect and keep them on display without a permit. - Amateur fishers can take their daily bag of 50 koura and use them for whatever purposes they like. This arose from the creation in 2001 of a bag for all species of shellfish not-named under the Amateur Fishing Regulations (eg periwinkles, pupu, etc). The definition of shellfish includes all crustacea, so the regulation now controls all non-commercial taking of koura, copepods, and waterfleas (Daphnia). - If you wish to collect any species (protected or not) from Department of Conservation land then you will also require approval under the Conservation Act 1987. Freshwater species that occur in areas that are administered by the department (e.g. part of reserves, conservation areas, national parks, faunistic reserves etc.) are generally protected from harvest or commercial use. If you wish to collect fish from these areas then you should check with local DOC staff to see what controls apply. Any permits required should be obtained from the conservancy where the species is to be collected. Generally the department advocate that no more than 10% of the population should ever be removed especially if the species being collected is threatened. One useful website may be http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_aquaria.html for some general guidance. - The National Parks Act 1980 makes it unlawful to take any native fish from a national park without the prior consent of the Minister of Conservation and unless the act consented to is consistent with the management plan for the park. - You may not transfer live aquatic animals from one natural waterway to another without permission. If the species does not exist in the recipient waterway DOC permission is required. If it does already exist there, approval is required from the Ministry of Fisheries. It is also illegal to release fish back into a natural waterway without prior approval, even if you are returning them to where they came from. The only exception would be where a fish has been caught and then returned immediately to the same waterway (eg. if you are recreationally fishing). If a fish that has been in captivity is transferred back into a natural stream it could have contracted some type of disease or fungi which that fish could then spread to a natural population. - If aquatic species are to be moved between the islands of New Zealand, then approvals must also be requested from the Minister of Fisheries under section 26ZM(2)(b) of the Conservation Act and the Director-General of Conservation under regulation 63 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations. - A person may not raise, feed, release, process, or deal in native fish for sale in any establishment (i.e. a fish farm) without a licence under the Freshwater Fish Farming Regulations 1983. This applies to koura and shrimp as well, and it is up to MFish to follow this up with aquarium hobbyists on TradeMe. They normally don't both if it is a one-off thing (or Daphnia) but where do you draw the line? If someone is selling say 5-10 koura/shrimp a week, then MFish can consider this to be a small fish farm that is operating without a permit....and they can come down on you. All legislation is public and can be searched for on http://www.legislation.govt.nz/default.aspx

I regularily have to deal with inquires from the public about this sort of thing, so I have summarized some points below on collecting aquatic animals and legalities of selling them: "Approval is required from the Ministers of Conservation under 26ZM (3) and/or Fisheries under 26ZM(2) of the Conservation Act 1987 to transfer and/or release any live aquatic life into freshwater." The terms ‘live aquatic life’ and “freshwater” are defined in the Conservation Act. The Department of Conservation made a policy decision that section 26ZM(3) of the Conservation Act does not apply to species being transferred or released into artificial aquaria. The process for obtaining these approvals is outlined in section 26ZM of the Conservation Act and involves environmental impact assessment, public notification and consultation. Application forms and information are available from your local DOC office." Garden ponds are considered to be 'artificial aquaria' as long as they are relatively small (becomes a gray area when considering larger ponds on farmland, semi-rural, or lifestyle blocks) and are not connected to natural waterways or situated on floodplains where habitants or tank/pond water are at risk of being flushed into a natural system. It is under your discretion to assess this risk but you can request someone from DoC to do a site visit if you are unsure. Regulation 71 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations 1983 allows whitebait, or eels, or other indigenous fish to be taken for the purposes of scientific research or for the purposes of human consumption except where prohibited or controlled by other statutory provisions or regulations: - The Whitebait Fishing Regulations 1994 and the Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994 govern the taking of whitebait. You cannot lawfully take whitebait outside the whitebait season without approval from the Department of Conservation. Whitebait are defined as being the young or fry of Galaxias maculatus (inanga): Galaxias brevipinnis (koaro): Galaxias argenteus (giant kokopu); Galaxias postvectis (short jawed kokopu): Galaxias fasciatus (banded kokopu), and Retropinna retropinna (smelt). Make sure the gear you use for collection is also allowable. Season for this area runs from Aug. 15 - Nov. 30. See http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/par ... tebaiting/ for further information. - If the species you wish to collect is protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 then you need approval from DOC (no freshwater fish are protected species but some invertebrates are). See schedule of protected species for a list of protected species in NZ. If a species is not protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and it is not illegal to collect under any other legislation e.g. Biosecurity Act (e.g. unwanted organisms), Freshwater Fisheries Regulations (e.g. Noxious fish), Conservation Act (e.g. Restricted Fish), and then you can collect and keep them on display without a permit. - Amateur fishers can take their daily bag of 50 koura and use them for whatever purposes they like. This arose from the creation in 2001 of a bag for all species of shellfish not-named under the Amateur Fishing Regulations (eg periwinkles, pupu, etc). The definition of shellfish includes all crustacea, so the regulation now controls all non-commercial taking of koura, copepods, and waterfleas. - If you wish to collect any species (protected or not) from Department of Conservation land then you will also require approval under the Conservation Act 1987. Freshwater species that occur in areas that are administered by the department (e.g. part of reserves, conservation areas, national parks, faunistic reserves etc.) are generally protected from harvest or commercial use. If you wish to collect fish from these areas then you should check with local DOC staff to see what controls apply. Any permits required should be obtained from the conservancy where the species is to be collected. Generally the department advocate that no more than 10% of the population should ever be removed especially if the species being collected is threatened. One useful website may be http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_aquaria.html for some general guidance. - The National Parks Act 1980 makes it unlawful to take any native fish from a national park without the prior consent of the Minister of Conservation and unless the act consented to is consistent with the management plan for the park. - You may not transfer live aquatic animals from one natural waterway to another without permission. If the species does not exist in the recipient waterway DOC permission is required. If it does already exist there, approval is required from the Ministry of Fisheries. It is also illegal to release fish back into a natural waterway without prior approval, even if you are returning them to where they came from. The only exception would be where a fish has been caught and then returned immediately to the same waterway (eg. if you are recreationally fishing). If a fish that has been in captivity is transferred back into a natural stream it could have contracted some type of disease or fungi which that fish could then spread to a natural population. - If aquatic species are to be moved between the islands of New Zealand, then approvals must also be requested from the Minister of Fisheries under section 26ZM(2)(b) of the Conservation Act and the Director-General of Conservation under regulation 63 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations. - A person may not raise, feed, release, process, or deal in native fish for sale in any establishment (i.e. a fish farm) without a licence under the Freshwater Fish Farming Regulations 1983. This applies to koura and shrimp as well, and it is up to MFish to follow this up with aquarium hobbyists on TradeMe. They normally don't both if it is a one-off thing but where do you draw the line? If someone is selling say 5-10 koura/shrimp a week , then MFish can consider this to be a small fish farm that is operating without a permit....and they can come down on you. All legislation is public and can be searched for on http://www.legislation.govt.nz/default.aspx

http://www.tankmates.net/upload/admin/Z ... 3_71cc.jpg

Nice pair! Hope they get the hang of it soon

I know of triops but nothing specifically to what species are native in NZ. I wouldn't bother researching it just to use to culture and feed fish though. Probably not worth the hassle when so many other critters are already available. All I could find on the topic in NZ is: Maddison, P. A.; Crosby, T. K. 2009. Summary of plant-animal associations from “Maddison (1993) Pests and other fauna associated with plants, with botanical accounts of plants. Technical report. UNDP/FAO-SPEC Survey of Agricultural Pests and Diseases in the South Pacific, vol. 3. Auckland : Manaaki Whenua B Landcare Research.” File downloaded from http://nzac.landcareresearch.co.nz/ Family : TRIOPSIDAE - Tadpole Shrimps Triops cancriformis (Bosc) - `Tadpole Shrimp' *Triops granarius (Lucas) - Tadpole Shrimp >*Triops longicaudatus (Le Conte) - Brine Shrimp and Maddison, P. A. (1993) UNDP/FAO-SPEC Survey of Agricultural Pests and Diseases in the South Pacific, Technical report. Vol. 3. Pests and other fauna associated with plants, with botanical accounts of plants. Auckland : Manaaki Whenua B Landcare Research. [File downloaded from http://nzac.landcareresearch.co.nz/] Class : CRUSTACEA Order : NOTOSTRACA Family : TRIOPSIDAE - Tadpole Shrimps >Triops cancriformis (Bosc) - "Tadpole Shrimp" Feeds on shoots and roots of young plants Asia, Europe, North Africa (#0023,#1231,#2289,#5081) >*Triops granarius (Lucas) - Tadpole Shrimp Can severely damage young seedlings Africa, Asia (#0023,#1231,#2289,#3117) >*Triops longicaudatus (Le Conte) - Brine Shrimp Feeds on young seedlings and can uproot them; leaves are chewed off Americas, some Pacific Islands, West Indies (#0023,#1231,#2289,#2364,#3117,#3460,#7293) >*Triops spp. - Brine or Tadpole Shrimps Damage seedlings, etc. Widespread] (#1231,#2289,#3117,#5081) >Family, Gen. et spp. indet. - Fairy Shrimps Damage seedlings,etc.) (#1231)

I suspect that the SAE will also go for the fry but the clown definitely will. When I put some of my adult male guppies into a community tank a while back they started disappearing one by one in the night. I have 2 large SAE's (10cm) and a clown (8cm). At first i blamed just the clown, but one day i also saw a SAE chasing a guppy around in the morning. They can't catch the neons and tetras, but are guppies too slow.

It's a type of amphipod. There are a countless number of species so sorry i can't be more specific.

Still trying to figure out what the first things are...but the sphere-shaped things are most likely a different species of ostracods.

I think those bones are used to expand the beard during displays. I don't think you have to worry about it hanging lower on one side. The surgery may have caused some nerve damage or something but I would just put it down to coincidence. IMO it won't affect his eating or well being.

Very nice. What is the difference between these and super checkerboards?

Does the seller even know why his auction was pulled? Did anyone report him/her to DoC of MAF before the auction was pulled? I mean its great that TradeMe stopped it, but if he doesn't know what he was doing wrong then he'll either just sell the fish privately or chuck them in a local waterway.