blueether

+1 From reading, the larval stage occurs in salt environment (I'm sure I also read they feed on suspended phytoplankton) and the post larval stages move further inland. I've caught then ~160 km inland win the waikato river catchment, and seen them above small waterfalls in other places in fast boulder streams. The ones I have had hatch in an aquarium were in with bully fry I was raising - needless to say the larvae were eaten. The larvae were free swimming ie they never settles on the bottom.

have a read of this: http://www.niwa.co.nz/freshwater-and-es ... sh-species

All very good I suspect that bandeds can live to well in excess of 10+ years and giants 15+. My giants slowed down lengthwise growth at ~20cm at about 4years old (at a guess) and then started to pack on the girth/weight. Unfortunately I lost one over winter after it ate a wasp - it never recovered fully and wouldn't eat well. Inanga will be out more during the day but can be very flighty, I suspect that if you were feeding kokopu during the day they would come out. If you get bullies from a lake you will have more luck at getting a sustaining population, but you might get them to breed and survive from river/stream caught fish

At least 2, not seen the nests though and the torrent fish do a good job in cleaning the nests out

the one on the right is definitely gravid, not sure on the sex of the other one

I don't know, Ive seen some pretty small male commons try and entice a female into a nest site. Sexing: males have a slightly darker patterning on the body and their dorsal fin is tipped with a cream to orange band (sometime not very noticeable) have a read of this thread viewtopic.php?f=41&t=58471&hilit=bully+id

no, if it is solid then it won't be a cyano I have a terrestrial moss that has survived and grown in a tank before. It's been smothered in java moss now though

On the ray count - I have a common female that has 6 rays, well I assume she isn't a giant as she is from 150+ km inland Wild bullies often have these lesions, two of mine do. You could treat with salt, won't hurt anything native although I would limit the salt to no more than about 6g per L (2 teaspoons/L) with a koura in there. maybe start at just 2g/L

equally from that photo it could be a cyanobacteria

that is why I said knock it off :digH:

What's this wash and scrub business? give it a bang to knock sand off - if you must. Done

Not sure what it is - some terrestrial liverwort probably, is that a shrimp in the background (for scale)?

I don't think that there are many true aquatic liverworts in NZ, and i think they tend to be more moss like (many 'moss' are actually liverworts)

a liverwort? other than that Photos and more details are needed

Yes, that all sounds good.

I take it that that photo is now public domain like the salfies of the chimps? Great pic

and you don't want that around, just look at what happened in Salem

My male is guarding a clutch of eggs in a 1 1/4 " (might be 1 1/2 ") PVC. Not sure how long he has had them as he has been guarding the cave for months with no eggs. What is the hatch time frame (23 deg)? How big are they and will they stay in the cave with him etc? They are in with 2 minnows (were 5 but they never bred in the 3 years I've had them), 20 odd blond guppies, 5 glass catfish, 2 panda whiptails, kuhli loaches and a 20+ cm goldspot pleco: Will they get eaten? If I move them to a breeding trap/cage will dad still look after the eggs? Anything else I should/shouldn't do?

You do know you'll have to get an upgraded tank to house it

The last fish is a smelt, there are two in the otago/chch area, not going to try and guess which one that is. I would guess that the bullies are all upland by the spotty faces

A bit late to thois thread but... The natives in the Rotorua area are very limited, and all introduced by man both Maori and white man. There are probably common bully, smelt and koaro. the latter having huge populations before the trout.

and the water wont be acidic after a week or two

And how fast they can grow?

If you are doing that large a water change make sure to add dechlorinator if you are on town water.

Not been around here much of late but I have a question: How low a tem can my goldspot pleco go to? He has been in the native tank at 20 deg all spring and summer and has grown well from about 6cm to maybe 15+cm (brought at about 4cm?). Now that the night temps are starting to fall the tank is getting down to about 19 deg by the morning. Should I move him back to the 180L guppy/planted tank (sitting at about 23)