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Ben 01

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  1. It really depends of your definition of an 'aquatic or semi aquatic plant'. There are a huge number of species that grow in seasonally wet or ephemeral environments. Some of these will grow fine when submerged full-time, others will eventually die off. There are also a lot of very large plants that grow in wet conditions but these are totally unsuitable for aquaria and any smaller ponds, would you want these included? (Typha orientalis, Beaumea articulata, Juncus pallidus etc, etc) Your current list is genus' only, some of these are large, and represented in New Zealand by introduced, native and endemic species. for example, you have listed Ranunculus, this genus is represented 50+ species in New Zealand, many are native, some are introduced, some are aquatic (such as R. amphitrichus) others grow in very dry conditions. you're off to a good start though, although it's definitely lacking many species (off the top of my head: Potentilla anserinoides, Isachine globosa, Wolffia australiana, Sparganium subglobosum). I would suggest searching for each genus on the New Zealand Plant Conservation website. Looking through which ones are native and if you would really consider them aquatic or semi-aquatic. http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/
  2. Recently I've been thinking about re-doing this pond. My main issue with it is the water depth, It's just too deep for a lot of emergent plants to thrive. If I filled it half with soil then the plants would do much better, improving water quality and casting more shade. I have another pond that's similar to this (albeit slightly smaller, 2000x80x60cm LxWxH) and it works very well, It's planted with Astelia grandis, Gahnia xanthocarpa, Gratiola sexdentata, myriophyllum robustum, Ophioglossum petiolatum and a Kahikatea.
  3. I'm still around Pond is ticking along pretty well. Big problem with cyanobacteria at this time of the year so looks pretty scummy at the moment. Temperature is a bigger issue though, it's sitting in the low 20's which is higher then I want. One Banded Kokopu and the Shortfin eel are visible most nights, haven't seen the second Kokopu for ages though. I introduced some very large Koura several months ago and they can be seen from time to time. Paratya have all but vanished, which sucks because i really liked them. I'm blaming the eel. Other inverts fluctuate in numbers randomly, sometimes it's heaving, other times there's barely a thing. Plants added to date: Sparganium subglobosum, potamogeton cheesemanii, baumea articulata, Lemna sp, Gratiola sexdentata and a couple species of Myriophyllum. Most are well established at this stage. Will get some photos for you soon.
  4. The last two photos won't rotate sorry, you will have to rotate your head Edit: oh, they did rotate.
  5. Sorry, it's been a while since i updated. Pond is doing well. One eel died fairly early on, i observed it getting beat up by the other one on a couple of occasions, then found it floating one night. Everything else appears to be doing good. The remaining Eel is quite tame and can easily be hand fed. The smaller of the two Banded Kokopu is out and active most nights, the larger one i see from time to time, same goes for Northern Koura. The invertebrate populations have increased over the last few months, no signs of the Amarinus but I haven't gone looking for them. Plants are growing much slower then I expected, lack of nutrients? :dunno: Temperature is staying where i want it (around 20c). I run the hose through it for about 20 minutes per week (sometimes twice per week) and it seems to do the trick at this stage. Water parameters are all normal, haven't tested Ph in ages though. Photos: The green tinge comes and goes, sometimes it's worse then this, other times it's very clear. I added Lemna disperma, I hope I the overflow works well enough to keep this under control. Gratiola sexdentata (light green) and Potamogeton cheesemanii (in flower).
  6. I attempted to photograph some of the inhabitants at night but I had no luck. Everything appears to be settling in well, plants are getting there gradually and the critters are doing great. Last night i introduced a couple of Eels. I went with australis for now, I'm going to trial this species before dieffenbachii. Night Photo, without flash. Night Photo, with flash. Anguilla australis
  7. Trying to find them is half the fun!
  8. Cheers Yep, i found them, It's a great project. Here's hoping mine has as much success. After this nice bit of warm weather the plant's are beginning to race to the surface, especially the Potamogeton(the one with the light brown leaves). The millfoil hasn't really done anything yet. Both of the Kokopu are doing well, they are easy to spot with a torch at night and occasionally in the late afternoon. The Koura haven't been visible for the last few nights, i suspect they have settled into the rock stacks. Other invertebrates seem to be keeping their number up despite the introduction of fish. Sigara, Anisops, and Paratya can be seen both day and night. I'll attempt to get some photos of the fish etc soon.
  9. Here's how it's looking so far: The plants have put on some growth, not as much as I was hoping though. I added the first fish yesterday, a couple of Banded Kokopu (Galaxias fasculatus). I also introduced some Northern Koura and more Paratya.
  10. Most species of Mayflies feed on algae and Biofilm. The damselfly larvae, however, are predatory. I expect damage to other invertebrate populations will be minor. I'll PM you. Not a big fan of waterfalls, but I may look into using a solar pump for some minor water movement in the future.
  11. Update: Picked up the first of the plants today, Myriophyllum robustum (A large, emergent Milfoil) and Potamogeton cheesemanii (Pretty much the closest thing to a native Water Lilly). I've planted these into plastic mesh pots, along with the Gratiola and positioned them towards the back of the pond. previously I had intended to hide the pots with rocks but I don't really have enough to make them look good. Instead I've moved all the rocks to the front of the pond and I'm hoping the plants will disguise the pots as they grow (They look awful at the moment). Moving the rocks and planting has stirred up the water again so it's too cloudy for a good photo. The inverts added last week are doing well from what I can see. I collected some new species today from a different stream system. Halicarcinus lacustris, Potamopyrgus sp (confirmed this time) and an unknown species of mayfly (I think it's Zephlebia), not sure how well the mayflies will go as they have a fairly high sensitivity score. These little dudes are great!
  12. New Zealand has a great selection of native wetland species. Plant list so far for the pond, I'll probably add a couple more species over time: Gratiola sexdentata (already planted) potamogeton cheesemanii Myriophyllum robustum Lemna minor The bog garden behind contains: Baumea articulata Gratiola sexdentata Myriophyllum propinquum Leptinella sp (I always forget what species this is. It's one of the threatend ones) Sonchus kirkii Azolla filiculoides (Syn. rubra) Lemna minor Ricciocarpus natans Wolffia australiana
  13. First critters added this evening: Sigara, Paratya curvirostris, Xanthocnemis larvae, Potamopyrgus sp (probably), Chironomus, flatworms, Nematodes and Oligochaete worms.
  14. The plan is to plant heavily with aquatic, emergant and floating species in the water. The Beaumea articulata in the bog garden grows tall and dense, it casts a fair amount of shade over the northern end of the pond. Behind this was previosly a stand of Phormium tenax I've removed this to replace it with something taller (probably more Leptospermum scoparium).
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