kiwiraka

Grass carp wouldn't bother tadpoles. And also have not been selectively bred for colour variation and are usually a green-brown colour. Did you get close enough to see if they had barbels?

Lol, I won't hold it against you Sounds like they could be Koi, which are an unwanted organism. Probably a good idea to contact DOC

The plant could be willow weed http://www.dowagro.com/nz/resource/willowweed.htm. The fish is definitely a carp, most likely a goldfish. How big was it?

Thank you for keeping us updated Looking forward to more photos

Sometimes?

That's ridiculous!

Will probably darken as it grows

Please keep posting when you update, makes following the thread much easier

Nice fish! Especially the agassizii

Welcome The water is not cycled, it carries very little beneficial bacteria. Most of the bacteria live in the filter media, the rest is in the substrate and on any surfaces. The best way to add bacteria is to transfer media from the filter of a cycled tank into the new tanks filter. There may be a large die off due to the temperature difference.

Until they get released and the mum gets hungry I was hoping you were Although I could try turn the Koura pink I'm assuming they would, isn't eyeshine a sign of what colours they see? Koura have orange/red eyeshine, red light is being reflected and they see the rest of the 'visible' light spectrum?

Will do

Thanks for that If it loses it's colour I'll probably do that, but I want to see whether it's genetics or habitat that's causing the colour.

Um..... No... Not a fan of the coloured gravel I hope it does stay blue, time will tell

I was assuming the normal coloured Koura was not a carrier and was BB. I think the way genetics are taught in school compared to uni is very different, in school you're taught one gene is responsible for colour, but I think it's actually a combination of genes (upward of 10?). Maybe someone with a bit more experience with breeding and genetics can clarify this?

It sure is Not quite sure on how genetics work but since it's a recessive gene (and if my 5th form genetic understanding is correct) if I breed the blue (bb) Koura with a normal coloured (No recessive blue gene) Koura (BB) all the offspring should carry the gene (They should all be Bb) but not show the blue colouration. Then if I breed those offspring with the blue cray hopefully 50% will be blue (50% should be bb 25% Bb and 25% BB). Or if I breed two carriers (Bb+Bb) 25% would hopefully be blue (bb). All offspring of two blue Koura should be blue. Although finding another blue specimen would be so much easier Someone else will have a better idea but one can hope Now to get it to breed...............

I hadn't even noticed the eyes, might just be the flash... I'll have a look tomorrow...

Yes natural varient (See Adriennes links ) Apparently in some populations up to 25% of the koura carry the blue gene but it only appears occasionally due to heavy predation since they don't tend to blend in too well. Although they can be much more common in deep lakes due to the low light penetration. I found it in the Akatarawa river, just after a flood. I'm guessing it got washed out of a smaller stream since it likely wouldn't last long with trout in the vicinity. Pretty cool little character doesn't seem to like tank mates so he's currently in his very own 4 foot tank with a Sunsun 303B. Haven't checked, although I definitely will in the near future. I would love to have a go at breeding it I'm thinking best method for this would be to wait til it's bigger then get Koura that are smaller as I don't want to risk him/her getting injured or killed...

Loving the drag and drop upload

Mmm, squid rings

Sounds like a nice stocking, although the Bluegills may be hard to keep in a community tank.

Breeding stars, although they would not cover the entire head but a much larger area of the gill covers than the marks on the cichlid.

Chillers generally have a sticker on them saying something like "do not turn upside down" so I wouldnt risk it... Although Shilo seems to know what he's talking about To clean it you could probably just hook it up to the garden hose... Any pump or filter will work but the cleaner the water is flowing through it the less likely you are to get a blockage. Plumbing in after the sump like livingart said would be ideal, but if youre not doing a sump just hook it up to the return from a canister filter.

Your best bet would be in the shallows of an estuary or tidal stream, they're easiest to catch in tidal streams that get cut off from the sea at low tide. Or maybe getting friendly with your local fresh fish supplier.