kiwiraka

I've finally been able to set up my six foot tank after ten months of waiting!!! I'm pretty happy with the scape, but I'll probably add another piece of wood that I'm soaking. I couldn't get many good photos of the fish, but there are: 2 Giant Kokopu 2 Banded Kokopu 3 Inanga (One of which has reached 16cm and is only from last season ) 5 Redfinned Bullies (4 males, 2 of which I misidentified as young females ) 3 Upland Bullies 3 Common Bullies 2 Cran's Bullies And 1 Koura The whole setup is about 900 litres and now, thanks to a small Banded Kokopu which managed to jump 10cm straight out of a hole barely as wide as itself, totally escape proof! Massive thanks to WillyP for all the help with organising the tank and even delivering it all the way from Auckland, very much appreciated I'll try upload more photos of the fish over the next week

Why does it have to smell like vinegar?

Theyd likely be Richardsonianus mauianus, had these in the ponds at our last property. Cool creatures but freaky, if you touched the surface of the water theyd swim in from all directions. http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/animals/freshwater-invertebrates/guide/no-jointed-legs2/segmented-worms/leeches2

Sounds like you need to stop poking fingers and other extremities where they don't belong

Looks great Youll be getting some interesting schooling behaviour Goodjob on thebackground to. What substrate is that? I like it Feeding video?

Good advice from shilo and colourgenes. More obstacles in the tank will likely help, if there are pieces of wood and rocks etc blocking the kokopus line of sight during a chase he will likely give up. I suspect lack of food is also a factor with your GK, some fish seem to be much harder to feed than others. I've had problems with mine for the last couple of months, they've decided if it doesnt wriggle its not food, theyre currently on a diet of nothing but earth worms and woodlice/slaters and finding food for them is a constant issue. I believe that its a common problem with GKs being ambush hunters (Or maybe its just the ones from MTI who suddenly find themselves in a less competitive enviroment?). Bandeds are generally much easier, although not as visually pleasing Id recommend following Shilos advice about the hiding places and overflow, and keep the DG in a seperate tank. When introducing the bullies i'd place a temporary divider between them and the GK until theyve settled down.

Winter will be fun once they get big Any pics of the pond and fish?

Hard to say for certain, I've had no problems with my GKs and bullies of various sizes but WillyP had the oposite experience. I would say they'll most likely be fine as long as the kokopu has plenty of food while it gets used to them and they have plenty of places to hide.

When larger fish (especially bandeds) are taken from the wild there is a high risk of fungul infection and other problems. Smaller fish or captive bred are always better for both environmental impact and adjustment to aquaria. I'm not aware of any easy methods for discerning gender, generally many of the larger fish are males as many females can become weakened by spawning and many may die from opportunistic diseases and infections.

I've signed it, although even if it does get passed I doubt it will have much affect. Whitebait will still be sold illegally and even most of the whitebaiters who dont will probably catch excess for friends and family. A better approach to protecting our our native fish would be compulsory fencing of waterways and protection of native bush, both mature and regenerating. Whitebaiting itself likely has a minimal effect on the native fish populations compared to pollution from farm runnofff, loss of habitat etc... It's a big step in the right direction if it does get passed though

Would it be possible to drain your water tank and then get it refilled?

Good for you

And you're responsible for the death of a bluegill bully.

They are awesome

Disgusting in humans yes, but happens frequently with other animals. The offspring will likely be fine until you get into the third or fourth generation. Anyway, livingart will be fully aware of any risks.

Ouch

Can be used on the go and is actually quite easy on larger mobile devices like tablets and IPads, plus autocorrect

Depends how big your net is If you go there regularly you could train them to come for food and try and scoop one out, but why do you want to catch one...?

Awesome tank What's your long term plan for the sharks?

There are photos of this hunting method on the New Zealand Native Fish facebook page, and a video on YouTube

The last owner was quite helpful and knowledgeable, unfortunately she sold the shop and retired. I'll have to find out who owns it now...

Not sure on the name, but it's the only pet shop in Kaitaia ( )

It's amazing how rough and uninformed some petshop workers can be! I've been wanting a Bristlenose for a little while and the tank is now set up and waiting, but my LFS is out of stock and I can't get fish posted due to being rural. My mum and sister were going to visit a friend out of town so I asked them to check for a Bristlenose at the pet shop there. So they went there and they looked in all the tanks and there was one Bristlenose (labelled as "Plecostomus", I'd told them it probably would be and to just look for a catfish with white spots ) So they told the woman at the counter that they wanted it and she asked what type of tank it was going into and when they told her she said that it can't because it's a cold water fish........ Anyway they argued the point for a bit but then gave up and asked the other staff member to catch it. She apparantly spent about 30 minutes squishing the net around nearly squashing the fish against the glass until she finally caught it, she then proceeded to quickly yank the net up sending the fish flying through the air and onto the floor. After a minute or so of her trying to pull it off the floor the other woman came over roughly pulled it off the floor then chucked it back in the tank and said "You don't want that one, we'll have more in next week" so they just said "No thanks" and walked out....

http://www.uigi.com/co2_conv.html

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