Mikey

From what I can see of the patterns, and the size of it... Giant Kokopu? A shot from the side and I'd feel more confident.... I have gotten in wrong in the past with trying to identify from above

Can't say I have ever tried that type of beef, I might have to keep an eye out for it next time I have some malaysian food. :rotf: Malaysian food is nice. PS: What made the pork special? :slfg:

Wow, that caterpillar really stands out! Neat colourations

I would imagine not a lot. Always scratched my head as to why humans feel they have to introduce species to areas they don't exist in... I guess it is a familiarity thing, but it does completely disregard the natural side of species distribution. Just look at rats, ferrets, stoats et al...

That is an impressive number of fish And those Angels proucing that sort of number... they must get tired. :yaw1: haha.

No rodents? Thought there would be a mouse or two hiding out in there... plenty of food for them and all

Apparently I'm a lying poisionus tree of some sort HEMLOCK'S CRABBY LIE Or maybe Sherlock Hemlock... :facepalm:

How did it go? You win or is there even more angry wasps charging around looking for vengeance?

I love exploring new streams nearby and finding more wild life... always a good feeling

Thanks for the replies... So what I am interpreting from the above posts is that feeding kidney etc is ok... providing I take normal precautions, like removing any excess that is left behind when they finish eating so it doesn't pollute water. Oh... and not eat the Koura in case I get mad cow or similar :slfg: Being an aquarium organism I wouldn't even think about eating them. Cheers.

The Koura are doing well, they are settled in now and are getting used to their new home. I don't tend to have the light on all that much at all, and I think this helped them settle down and as a result they are out and about quite a bit and visible. As of yesterdy evening the big one has taken over the rock complex on the right, so the smaller one has been hiding out under the wood that the big one has vacated, I will be putting a few more rocks in on the left side now so there is more hidey holes. They are taking on all the food I am popping in the tank... veges (they love peas!), JBL Novo tabs (that I feed my cories) and last night they had a bit of ox kidney each (there is a post from me in beginners corner about feeding kidney as I'm not sure if its ok). Fascinating creatures to watch... in particular at night. I have seen the bigger Koura running up and down the wood on the right hand side and it also charges along that piece underneath it clinging to the bottom. I am having a great time sitting in the dark with a very low light source watching them both charging around the place. Last night was fun because they had a chunk of kidney each and they were clinging to their pieces and tearing into them with great relish. In terms of future additions, blueether reckons bullies will be ok (crans and/or redfins), and I like bullies, so I will get a few bullies for the tank and see how they go. I am not 100% sure what type of bullies are hanging out in the streams in my area as I haven't caught any to identify properly, but from what I can see of colourations, patterns and location... it looks like I only have common bullies available locally. I will investigate this further and see if there are Inanga nearby... the local "supply" is going to dictate what I could possibly have in the tank methinks. Cheers.

Morning all, I have read alot on here about people feeding heart meat to their aquatic creatures... and was just wondering if there is any reason why you couldn't use other types of organs... such as liver and kidneys etc. The reason I ask, is we have ended up with a ox Kidney in the fridge, and the cats are enjoying it.... im just wondering if it is safe to feed to the Koura I have got... I threw a couple of pieces in last night to see if they liked the taste... which they do... I'm just wondering if there is any reason not to feed them Kidney? Once the kidney is gone I'll be getting heart for the Koura, so if the kidney is unsafe then they can just eat other stuff for now. I did a search but couldn't really find any answer. Cheers!

Koura are settling in well. Gave them some peas last night to see if they would go for it... success: This is the tank as it currently set up: The bigger Koura has dug out an area under the wood on the left and is chilling out in there. The smaller Koura is charging around in the rock complex on the right hand side. No good photos at this stage. I am trying to decide whether to add more rocks to the tank so they go the whole length of the tank... I have plenty of rocks left so could get some good height etc. Or shall I just leave it as is and change it later down the track as they get bigger? The other thing I have been mulling over is other occupants... now there is two crays in there I am a little reluctant to get bullies for this tank. I was thinking maybe a Banded Kokopu to cruise around the upper reaches and eating the moths that keep flying into the water! Oh... and for the random photo of the day... I had a visitor come and check out what I was up to. It was released into the garden after it's photo shoot.

I built up a bit of a cave complex on the right hand side of the tank in the dark end under the big piece of wood. I have some more rocks now, and tonight I'll set up another one at the left hand end. I was only planning on getting one, but when I was there and had the chance to get a couple of small ones, I took the chance. So by sun down tonight they will have a complex each end of the tank if they want Once I have set up the rocks on the left hand side, I'll get some photos of the whole set up and get some opinions and thoughts from members here.

As above, I got home from hockey last night and decided to go out to try and get a Koura for the tank. I was gone for 15 minutes... and it only took me a minute to catch two Koura... most of the time was walking there and then clambering (and falling) down the muddy bank to the pool, and then clambering back up the bank with a bucket with two Koura in it. The pool was the same one I found the Koura in originally... there is still lots there, and there was a decent sized one watching me as I took the two smaller ones, I wonder if it was mum! I got home, peeled off my now muddy shoes and scraped some of the mud off my legs... then went inside and started acclimatising the Koura. Left them in the bucket and poured some water from the tank into the water gradually and added more every 10 mins or so... I did that for about 1/2 an hour. I then popped them into the tank... the smaller one got hold of the net with its Chelae and was hanging on for dear life... once it let go it proceeded to charge around the tank trying to work out what just happened. The bigger one went in nice and easy and proceeded to sulk and start landscaping. This morning when I checked on them they were both happy, one was hiding under some wood and the other was hiding under the filter inlet?!?! Needless to say I'll be setting up some more rocks on the left hand side of the tank so they can have a complex each. Only a couple of pics at this stage... I didn't want to stress them out too much last night... I figured plucking them from the stream and re-locating was enough for one night. I'll get some more pics of them and the tank overall in the next few days to share with you all. The "big" one - between 4/5 cms The "little" one - between 3/4cms

Got home from hockey. Decided I would go out and get some Koura. 15 mins later they are in mah bucket! So here is a couple of photos of them in bucket... more photos and description of how it all went to come tomorrow I promise. Very excited They are now in the tank... and the slightly bigger one is already organising home I can hear it playing with the gravel as I type this

Awesome... I love the picture of the Weta having a feed :thup: Good to hear your head is almost sorted

Very cool... although I feel he is missing something, oh I know... He needs some pants.... some Hammer pants. :facepalm: (terrible I know, but couldn't stop myself)

So a little while ago I decided to convert my 180 Tropical tank to a Native tank, that build thread can be found below in my signature. My stocking level in the 180L was pretty low and I had a spare 60L tank and filter hanging around, so I sold my nice Electric Blue Rams to a fellow member, broke down the bigger tank and moved the remaining occupants to the 60L. Thought I'd share. Set up: Juwel Korall 60L tank Aqua One Aquis 500 filter Juwel 50W heater T8 tube built into hood Aqua one tank stand Life: Black Neon Tetras Glolight Tetras Peppered Cories Ottocinclus Amazon Sword Pics: Here is the 180L tank prior to the move: And here is the new tank set up and going well: The move has only recently happened so the remaining sword is still re-establishing itself and has been growing really well, already put on three big new leaves in the couple of weeks since it got moved. The tank looks a little sparse at the moment, but the sword in the middle of the big tank pic is the same sword that has been relocated, so over time there will be some good shade for the Cories. Cheers.

&c:ry Always sad to lose a long term fish like that.... sounds like he was a tough guy too Sorry for your loss.

Nice photos and a good road trip.... looks like you had fun Thanks for sharing the pics.

Update time: So I had this as the "canvas" after the tropical tank was dismantled: So I gave the tank a really good scrub down, gave the gravel sitting in there a good vac, and spread it evenly across the bottom of the tank. Then the larger sized gravel I got for the natives went into the tank as well, I have made little hills and valleys with the big gravel to give the ground a bit of variance as opposed to just having an even spread. I then got a couple of pieces of tea tree have put them in... along with my single rock. I have fashioned a lid out of an old fire place guard I had lying around and situated the LED on one side of the tank... the effect this gives the tank when it is on is pretty awesome... it lights up about halve the tank and looks like the light is penetrating a gap in the forest canopy So here are some photos of how it looks thus far: Mesh lid and light set up: Tank set up, hood off: Hood on, light on: I'm not 100% happy :an!gry with these last few photos because it doesn't show the lighting effect nicely compared to what it actually looks like (the first photo is the best)... I was trying to take the images during the day, so was a bit messy trying to get it right... I will have more photos after it is completely set up and will get better ones So this weekend I am going to go and get a bunch more rocks and will set up a bit of a cave complex on the right hand side under the bigger piece of wood, along with a smaller one on the left hand side and then in theory go and catch the Koura and a Bully or two. Cheers. PS: For those who want to see what happened to the tropical occupants, there is a link in my sig to that tank with some pics

That is a very nice looking native tank! Thank you for sharing... has given me a few ideas on the one I am setting up now... I need more rocks! May go and visit a quarry or something on the weekend.

Did it work? Is Stella's mind rebooted?

Teaser update :gigl: Phase two was pretty much completed over the xmas period, I have given tank a good scrub down, put the large sized gravel in there and chucked in some tea tree, I also set the LED light up at one end and I must admit the effect looks awesome in my opinion I just need to build a cave complex at one end now with some rocks and then go gather some occupants. I have got photos... on my camera, so I will upload them soon for everyones perusal. So that is the teaser... more to come shortly