Stella Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Hi David! I am potentially getting some giant kokopu whitebait off someone. COuld you tell me a bit of what they are like? I love natives. Tis becoming bit of an obsession. Have one tank, 220 litre, with 3 adult inanga, 6 small (this year's) inanga, one good sized cray and three bullies. Used to have koaro, would love to have some of them again. Am going whitebaiting the last weekend of the season, see if I can get me some bandeds!! Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 sure. I have two and keep them with a f.w cray. they are in a pretty big tank 19 degrees celcius and like gobbling up mealworms. They are quite secretive I find, and I have a few big rocks for them to hide behind, buth they are excellent swimmers. Mine are about 8-10 cm long at present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Sounds pretty cool! did you get yours as whitebait - if so how long did they take to get to that size?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 The fact that all of our rarest fish have a whitebait stage in their life cycle is the reason I could never eat whitebait or support the catching of it for food - the giant kokopu might only make up around 1% of the run - but considering how many whitebate EACH person who catches them pull out of the ecosystem each year - I'm sure you'll agree that numbers wise that is allot of the rare fish being eaten - before they even get a chance to grow up!! I don't see how people can justify eating baby fish - It makes absolutely no sense eating any animal before it gets a chance to reproduce. And as we have destroyed most of our native fishes habitat as well as constantly introducing trout that eat them, I don't understand how anyone who loves our country and wants to let the next generation enjoy it too can kill SO MANY of its native animals at one time! Just because fish don't sing like a tui doesn't mean they aren't important!! Ok - rant over may be why there is a set time each year that you are able to catch them. the amount we catch is quite small compared to what comes up our rivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 How long did it take for them to get that big? The name 'giant' is putting me off a little! I have found all natives like to hide in caves, even the inanga. And vital for bullies, they like the territories it creates as well as places to hide from each other. What area of the tank to the prefer? (like how bandeds patrol the top, inanga school in the middle and koaro hang about the bottom, resting or swiming like sharks) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 may be why there is a set time each year that you are able to catch them. the amount we catch is quite small compared to what comes up our rivers. I agree that having a season is great and obviously keeps the practice allot more sustainable than it would be otherwise - but there is no way you can say that these fish, which evolved without our interference or anything like the predation pressures they now face, are not affected in a bad way by being caught by the million every year just to make a pattie. That is why I cannot justify eating them. Not that I'm saying anyone is a bad person for doing it - it's just my personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 the ones at auckland zoo are currently about 20 cm and apparently they are still growing. One of mine is alot more secretive than the other- it spends all its time behind the rocks but the other one likes darting around. They spend most of their time near the bottom but one of mine (the less secretive) often sits up by the overflow at nigh time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 20cm sounds pretty impressive! do you have any pics of your ones? I'd love to see!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 i'll see if i can get ya some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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