CodKing

Hey thanks! Figured that this site might use a 'normal' resolution, apparently not next time I'll resize properly

http://i30.tinypic.com/2u4pitk.jpg http://i31.tinypic.com/2h39ct5.jpg http://i28.tinypic.com/2wdueyr.jpg http://i29.tinypic.com/ayvxop.jpg http://i25.tinypic.com/2zplbx4.jpg http://i25.tinypic.com/34yvde9.jpg

Maybe we're lucky down south but I found a stream crawling with them. A lot of big suckers too.

Wow, I started a bit of a debate here! I like trout, I don't know too much about NZ biodiversity when it comes to fish. I just know about catching and eating and we used to catch 'cock-a-billies' as kids. Just did first year Bio at UC and am starting to see how cool it all was..... and some parts still are! Now, as an intelligent species we can see how introduced species effect ecosystems, from what I understand it's really about preventing new arrivals, IDing new entrants as quickly as possible, analyse and manage likely outcomes. Well thats my input I just cracked the bottom of my main tank Fishies having quality bucket time

Thanks btw!

Hmmm, will have to sort that out! Thanks How necessary is flow/current for bullies? Would are they happier in faster or slower water. I'd prefer to have a tank that is powered by air bubbles rather than a big filter

Some of those have had a bit of colour editing, none of these ones do. In the winter sun they almost glow. http://i46.tinypic.com/s67wa8.jpg http://i50.tinypic.com/25jfsbn.jpg http://i45.tinypic.com/zt9dmd.jpg Got these from a stream outside of Oxford, just north-west of Christchurch, probably about 300m under the snow line, so it was pretty fresh! And yes, very uplandy Looks like I have 2 girls and 6 guys. Tank isn't much to see yet, just a couple of rocks and a cool log. Trying to find some polystyrene to make a backdrop. I want to spread all the possible hidey holes vertically so I can see them more often, leaving the front of the tank for nice clean sandy-go-planty area. Has anyone tried something like this?

Thanks Stella, that would be the case for the feeding. I'd never seen a feeding cone before, I'll have to get/make one! Few more pics, not much sun here at the moment so not really good for taking shots. Light not arriving till next week as well http://i49.tinypic.com/ape8fa.jpg http://i47.tinypic.com/350qom0.jpg http://i49.tinypic.com/28c143k.jpg

Hi all, Well the weekend turned out to be a success, 8 Bullies, a nice bit of wood and a couple of good rocks. Now I have it all setup, I've got two questions: 1. Is there such a thing as too much air? My filter does and excellent job at adding bubbles and I have a bubble wall that goes the length of the tank. They aren't always on together due to noise but occasionally they are just cos it looks good! 2. Feeding time! Some of my bullies don't seem interested and my method could use some refinement I use a bit of nylon to float tiny bits of liver past their faces. There are two darker fish that just go for it but the rest don't seem to care. Any improvements on my very time consuming method would be great Thanks for any input! I've got slow internet and hosting issues but will put more shots up soon http://yfrog.com/izimg3936smedj

Some places you're still allowed to use a worm, if you just wanna land one that's a good option! Big fat and wriggly wins the day!

I've stuck gold this evening and come accross some excellent and very large bits of safety glass! This will make my tank layout much larger (around 1200x450x600). I assume the high specific heat of water means, more water= more stable temp? Maximum room temp in summer this year was 24 but I'm sure I could rearrange to find a cooler spot. But I think to be on the safe side I'll get a little fridge setup on standby. I have DIYed one up before for a computer watercooling system and as long as the cooling coil is long enough, it's supprising how well it works. I had a little $20 12V fridge running off a computer power supply that I got for free and managed to dribble out about 20L/hr of pretty chilly water. Not sure how cold it actually was but must have been about 10-15C I've made plans to go out this weekend to the rurals. From your advice I'm going to find a slice of our heaven and get a snapshot of it with the intent to recreate it. If anyone is interested I'll get a diary up and running so we can all learn from my mistakes! Thank you so much for all your advice so far, I'm sure I'll need to call on your expertise in the months ahead!! Hopefully I'm ready for fish come summer time! (Man, I'm starting to get impatient!! fish.... fish... fish.. fish. )

And I guess the process would be drawnout and expensive? Funny, I pay $100 a year to catch and kill up to 4 a day but cant stick one in a tank

Is it possible/legal?

At this stage I have not a one! (maybe the two mussels I have) My tank is still a work in progress, I have 90% of the materials needed just trying to source one more piece of glass. I want to be sure I can build an appropriate habitat. I'm thinking a trip to the West Coast is probably my best bet, i.e., getting away from crusty waterways. I'm not too picky about what goes in the tank, something active would be nice! So there are smaller clams and mussels, how hard are these to get a hold of? What about keeping Flatworms and the likes? That probably sounds a little odd, would they just hide constantly or get eaten by the fishes? I would like to keep the habitat as complete as I can and wouldn't mind keeping propagation tanks to sustain populations if they were part of the food chain. The only issue I see is keeping everyone cool in the summer time. A beer fridge and a bunch of pumps I'm thinking would do the trick yeah? So you think I am slowly killing Dead and Doug? (mussels named through initial activity )

Excellent, thanks (Glad someone got the title, saw a giggle in another post so thought I'd add one )

Hey all! I'm living in Christchurch and thinking about filling my under-construction tank with natives. I've been doing a little bit of scouting, sad to see the Styx river by marshlands bridge has turned black and oily I remember eeling and canoeing in there as a kid. Didn't see much life in there at all, does anyone have any idea of good spots to find plants/fish/crays/shrimp? I figure I should go inland, away from the city and maybe north where it gets a bit rockier but then I thought I might have the problem of eutrophicated water ways around farms. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them! Anything in or around Christchurch and I'm looking for everything, stones, gravel, plants, driftwood, fish etc. Thanx! PS, do we have any native freshwater bivalves? I've got a couple of unknowns employed as filtration units in my small tank and they are doing a great job!