blueether

They are nomally detritus feeders so mostly plants (and small inverts I guess?), but will eat meaty stuff, they are scavengers so anything goes in the wild

two koura of that size in a small tank may fight, just a heads up

yep a 'baitcatcher' should work, or spotlighting at night. Common bully often landlock in dams/lakes etc Free live food with all the backswimmer/waterboatmen

These have all come from JaSa's stock as feeders several generations ago now - still being used as such I have several males in this line, one greener but still young

From a lake might be better, just get a small one to start with. There are common bullies in Hamilton lake and the lakes at the UNI. Dobson fly larvae are cool as are dragon/damsel fly, we have a freshwater limpet (that excretes a glowing slime), we have a freshwater crab and two freshwater mussels - the larger one is not really suited to an aquarium, although you will sometimes see the for sale at pet stores.

but the one that is in every garden in NZ is Camellia japonica not the tea one which is Camellia sinensis

Koura will out grow it in a year or two. Bullies could do ok in there say 2 or 3 female and 1 male. I'd go with crans or common. common bullies from a lake would be best as they tend to only get to about 1/2 to 3/4 the size so around 6cm or so

I would just wash some of the noodles/bioballs in a bit of tank water and dump the water in the new tank new tanks, and new fish are always good

Yes yes, that is what I do most of the time :-)

That's interesting as I brought this as a redspot. It's in with the natives atm at 20 deg and seems to be doing ok

I have to agree with Ira, some had to at some stage... eventually

I would say upland bully going by the orange spots on the gill/face and where it was from.

Part 1 is a good read, will get to the rest latter

I think 192.168.20.1 is netcoms default IP address I suspect that Eset Smart and the router are having differing opinions on what IP addresses to use for some sites or your router could be compromised... could you post the output from ipconfig /all use the same method as above to open a command window.

off work for the day, have to go back on friday though I hope every one had a good solstice Merry Christmass

You have the temp range about right for their max. A desk fan pointing down on to the surface of the tank may/should keep the water cool the just add a frozen bottle of water if it gets too hot - works well. They can be quite territorial, will rescape the tank, will try and escape and can be either shy or bold. The one on my 430 l tank is only seen about once a week or less. Give then lots of hiding places (that they can't collapse on themselves) and feed sinking pellets and greens.

welcome aboard

Arrived today (photo of it beside the last book on the subject, that is a little dated now):

Got a new book in the mail today:

That is what David R is using I think in his little toy tank - pothos?

Now that it's not 6 am and I have more time I give you a few thoughts... You will want to keep the temp down to a max of 20 deg as if the water is above this it is stressfull on the fish. Higher temps mean less O2 in the water for a start and most of our natives are much better suited to lower temps. Under forest cover streams seldom get above 15-18 deg. Most natives will take dried food eventually, some learn quicker than others. You will want a high protein food. I use NLS sinking pellets 2mm, Sera East-African cichlid pellets (about 2mm), Nutrafin Max Cichlid (about 1mm) and Discus (about .5mm). Use the right size for the fish etc etc... the NLS stuff sinks very fast and can get lost. Any small stream should produce fish - the whitebait season has ended so make sure you aren't catching fresh run whitebait. The best way to catch fish is by spotlight at night - ask landowners and no reserves etc I would suggest common bullies, Cran's bullies, inanga and banded kokopu. smelt should do ok but need high O2 when transporting them and in the first 24 hours or they will die, once settled thy are easy to care for and hardy enough. Other things to think about are freshwater shrimp (will end up as food if you keep kokopu) and koura. eels will likely wander off from the pond...

just a thought... Plant the tank out now, get the WCMM in a few weeks when cycled, let the plants establish for a few months then get a small koura - and give it plenty of hiding places. Might work out

and you could happily keep them with your wanted koura

My natives get them if I catch them

Blue is for sky. ie the opposite of earth.