chopper

Wels!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then any other giant catfish species. I used to see snake heads in the ponds near were i lived as a teenager. They were pretty cool .

Ah thems were the days! The same people used to own "The gold fish bowl" pet store in south city. That was many years ago now. They also bought the Stanmore road pet store called the "fish tank"? Went into critter kingdom once to buy a hoplo catfish but the ones they had were too small for what i wanted and I didnt have much money, they took me out the back where all the tanks were and caught a full sized one and sold it to me for $6. Sold me jags and midas cichlids for a couple of bucks as well. All their stores were choice and they were always willing to give out helpful advice.

Here is a link to the german axolotl forum showing many different photos of morphed axo's. Metamorphosing has been fixed in certain strains due to crossing with tiger salamanders many generations back(so no need for lowering of water or chemical treatment) but the physical features of the axolotl prevail. Enjoy! http://www.axolotlforum.de/wbb/index.ph ... adID=12717.

True good point I should of thought of that , only buy new ones then they are still pretty cheap.

Those filters look real cool . Here is another idea instead of buying an expensive canister aquarium filter that has been mentioned many times before. What about using these http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/ou ... 722500.htm . They are pretty common on trade me I bought one for $5 brand new, has good flow rate and if motor doesn't work just replace inside or use one to pump water into canister from your tank. I suppose making filters is fun though. I make all my big ones just buy the pump, then make the rest out of hoses, fittings and containers i buy or have lying about the place. Many hose fittings can be used from garden irrigation systems you get at mitre 10 etc, including taps, multi sockets, t juctions, elbows etc. They work just as well and are way cheaper, some can look really good too, other look pretty shabby but i just hide them under my tanks or behind them. After a while you may want to up grade your system and then you can just pull it apart and reuse the pieces again. You usually cant do this with shop bought filters. After a while you will build up a huge collection of filter parts for quite cheap.

That german website is quite good i visit it a lot . A tiger salamander would be so choice to own. Although morphed axo's look neat and get to a fairly big size they still aint the same (and its not good to morph axolotls either). Axo's and tiger salamanders can be crossed (usually by crossing neotenous tigers with axolotls) and produce fertile offspring. Axolotls themselves can breed when morphed. They breed like a terrestrial tiger salamander does and morphed individuals can also breed with neotenous individuals.

bullies go nuts on earth worms. Cut them up into smaller pieces for smaller fish. You can feed them thin strips of beef heart too. I feed mine heaps of different things to vary their diet

Whitebait season doesnt open until mid august so have to wait until then to capture those. Without wanting the risk of running into the trouble. Then you can catch bucket loads and kill them then eat them and its ok!

if you are only after juveniles you will find them hanging in the shallows during the day. To catch bigger bullies during the day flip over the rocks and they will swim out. Other methods such as spot lighting and using traps work well and these can be used to catch numerous species of white bait and bullies.

They have 2 morphed white axolotls in nelson zoo. I asked a keeper how they changed them he directed me towards another telling me they know but the second keeper claimed they didn't, however, they seemed to know an lot about them. I told them i was just curious as i have kept them for many years but have never seen a metamorphosed individual but they refused to divulge their methods. They are better in the water any way i think

selwyn river dries up near state highway 1 as farmers have stolen all water for irrigation. If you go further down towards Leeston it has water in it again as other creeks drain into it. Failing that follow it to Coes Ford and onwards towards lake Ellesmere. Rivers like the rakaia, ashburton and rangitata,huranui, clarence are now usually swollen due to rains so best going to smaller creeks and streams.Good luck!

hehehe i meant what about the real goldfish elmo keeps it features prominently in every episode. I myself am surprised about Oscars living conditions, they haven't improved since the show began!He is clearly the poorest guy on the street and the others ridicule him for it referring to him as a grouch! His so called friends dont care as they offer no support to help him out and Sesame streets Work and Income office must just be terrible to allow someone to live in such conditions. I thought the show was supposed to be fun for kids , not promote discrimination or creating stereotypes.

What about Elmo on Sesame street?!!! I know its American, but its supposed to be an educational show and they put all kinds off stuff in that fish bowl depending on the shows theme for the particular episode. Sometimes there is multiple fish in the bowl.

Here is a video of an axolotl under going metamorphosis http://www.arkive.org/axolotl/ambystoma ... l#text=All The website as you can see has other short clips of axolotls and some info on them too.

Had a silver aro for a while living with a clown knife a few oscars and a jag. Sold whole set up when i moved. I often dream of owning one again ( any species) as it was the best fish i have yet had the pleasure to own. Even cooler than the big salt water ones i used to look after when i was aquarist at public aquarium.

Axolotls are choice but trying to morph them often kills them as it puts them through a lot of stress. As previously stated it weakens them and shortens their lives, greatly reduces their ability to regenerate too. Best to keep them as an enormous tadpole. They are critically endangered in the wild almost extinct only found in a few polluted lakes and water ways. I tried to morph one a few years back (slowly evaporated the water over many months, gills and fin on back started to shrink) but after researching the risks to the animal decided against it. Using chemical method is risky too as exact measurement of quantities needed often proves difficult. People have also claimed that theirs have changed after a sudden jolt but if this were the case there would be heaps of salamanders in christchurch, so this must happen on very rare occassions. I have been thinking of making a shallow pond with different coloured axolotls , i think it would look quite neat with the gold and white ones contrasting the blacks and wild coloured types. If people really want a salamander get a fire bellied newt then you dont have to worry about the problems of metamorphosing it.

In most cases medicines made for fish are toxic to inverts. I used to be an aquarist at a public aquarium and if a fish was sick it was either quarantined (common sense of course) or its tank locked off from the others so it could be treated. Periodically someone would treat a fish or tank and forget about the other critters unfortunately many would be wiped out.

I have found that bullies will get out without a lid on your aquarium. they will either jump out directly or climb out using the filter pipes/cables. The numerous times I have kept different species of bullies this has happened to me.With regards bully aggression when I was younger (about 12 years old)I put a very large common bully in with my goldfish it destroyed them rather quickly. I moved it in with my axolotls it the proceeded to savage them and they were quite large. A few days ago I placed a large goldfish in with my upland bullies while i sorting its tank out, the bullies attacked the goldfish instantly. So i guess they are rather ferocious little buggers in general. They attack my hand when i put it in the tank as well. If your able to get your hands on a copy, there is also a good big article in March 1992 Tropical fish Hobbyist Magazine on keeping native galaxids . As mentioned earlier filters used in rifle aquariums can create excess heat which radiates in the aquarium. To get around this you can use powerful external pumps but they are usually pricey. I live in blenheim which is similar climate to nelson my tank is not chilled but kept cool due to its location (in a cool concrete garage, near a shaded open window).Temp hardly ever gets above 15c in summer.

Was looking at my copy of R.M Mcdowall's fishes of New Zealand the other day and was surprised to see the amount of fish species that were put forth by the various acclimatisation societies for introduction into NZ. Some were denied importation due effects on environment or lack of food supply, others died in transit to nz , others made it but have died out over the past century, other introductions may survive in very small isolated populations. Just imagine what would be left of the nz fish fauna if these were to be found in our waters today!? Here we go: Arctic Char(died in hatchery ponds),Japanese minnow, European gudgeon,barbel (introduced), bream(possibly introduced)bleak,dace,roach(introduced),european minnow,Australian bass(introduced),whitefish(introduced),european carp strains(non koi strains),striped bass,large mouthed bass(speculated introduction but probably unfounded),Australian spangled perch,Murray cod,small mouth bass,Atlantic grayling, giant gourami, cutthroat trout, various rainbow and brown trout sub species,shad species, coho salmon,lake herring,silver carp(introduced), crucian carp(introduced). As you can see many have been introduced but mostly have died out. I have found out that there are reports of people catching some species rather recently to their astonishment! Was surprised that European Pike were not mentioned! Please comment and add to the list.

If you could legally keep all nz cold water fish, both native and introduced, you could have an awesome monster setup!We all know the reasons why keeping most of these fish species is not allowed but it is fun to imagine. You could choose from perch, grass carp, koi carp, orfe, rudd,giant kokopu, banded kokopu, short jawed kokopu,koaro,rainbow trout, brown trout,mackinaw, char, giant bully, black flounder, shortfinned and longfinned eels,bullhead catfish,tench, wild goldfish and all the carp hybrids and trout hybrids too. You would need a huge tank for some of them and a very efficient chiller and many couldn't be kept together either due to varying habits and lifestyles but would be interesting!

Quite interesting,cheers! Unfortunately the only fish you can keep in a hydro system in nz are goldfish. I suppose If you have a heated greenhouse though you could keep pacu with the hydro that would be cool, their waste would be awesome plant fertilizer when they are fully grown.

Clown knife fish (feather back) can get real big, saw one close to 3ft once in singapore , other knife fish can get reasonable size too. Datnioides (tiger fish) can get to a reasonable size as can some eels eg tyre track, fire eel, plecs can get big too , depending on species. Pink tailed chaceus get to about 25cm and are predatory.You used to be able to get reasonable sized catfish in nz like sorubim lima shovelnosed catfish and others but they are not allowed now, the ones that are still around have a hefty price tag, if you can find them at all!? I got offered a huge Leiarus marmoratus catfish back in the late 90's for $300 didnt have the money so had to decline. Its probably worth a small fortune now! I want a wels myself but have to convince wife to move to uk for that to happen.

Had cory's survive entire winter in pond which was frozen over for quite long periods.

I would have killed/eaten the trout instead of let it go! Regardless of laws you must have ya morals!

Giant bully or black flounder are cool to keep and get to a decent size but you probably never see them in your pond due to their benthic and sedentary habits so probably better in a big tank. most people think they are better in brackish water but they have been found quite far inland so can live in completely fresh water . I had estuarine stargazer once was pretty cool looking fish but didn't do much just sat around doing nothing only ate live food so I let it go again.