help with nz native tank

[K R Brown]

ok new here great site too

i want to start an native coldwater tank curenttly on the weekend i captured 12 or so white bait and one i think its an eel

put in tank

i want to get an bigger eel

what do i feedwhite bait etc

and freashwater crays i have access to them tons in the local stream would they attack the fish and or eels

any help aprecaited

[Caryl]

I think the crays would eat the others but I haven't kept them so can't be sure.

Whitebait will eat flake food.

Haven't kept eels either but I think they need fast flowing water and are not suitable for tanks.

[suphew]

I kept f/w cray in a cold water tank for a while, it didnt eat any of the fish etc (tank was mostly full of WCMM) I don't know how long the live, mine lasted about 6 months.

Eels will live anywhere, ideally they want good clean fast moving water, but the biggest healthest I have even seen were in a farm drainage dig

[fishboi]

i would have thought the eel would eat the white baits. make sure u have good cover as those guys tend to jump.

[jude]

We used to catch little eels when we were kids and they could really jump. We also caught a huge 6 footer and my uncle chopped its head off.

I didn't know eels were like chooks - chop the head off and they keep going. This damn thing wriggled all over the back lawn. I screamed, took off inside, and had nightmares that night about headless eels .............. LOL

Oh dear, I must be feeling old - getting into reminiscence mode. At least my stories are still short.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Jude

[Luke*]

Hah...not so lucky eel huh? Some people smoke them and eat them, particularly the Maori I believe.

vtec8u ask dave the waikato pres, he just set up a native tank with some whitebait and bullies etc and he might be able to add something about them

[suphew]

I have smoked and eaten them a number of times. Hmmmmm good eating

[northland chic]

We had a pet eel (Eli) we tried for weeks to get him to eat, the only thing he would eat were worms. We only had him for about a year, he was probably 8cm when we got him. When we realeased him he was about a foot long. He got so far then stopped eating, we were later told they hibernate still not sure on that. He was a great pet and really friendly. He did escape in the first few days and ended up covered in fluff in our middle room. He had slithered about 2-3m from his tank I found him wasnt wearing my glasses so didnt know what it was. My partner threw him back in his tank he did a mad dash scraping all the fluff off and came right. Sorry I can't help with the white bait but enjoy your eel!

[Raul]

Hi,

The whitebait should take bloodworms and daphnia straight away and you should be able to wean them on to flake pretty quickly. It kind of depends what species of whitebait you have as to how easy they will be to feed, not all species get exited about flake food.

eels do ok in tanks with other fish, but the general rule is the smaller the eel the better. bigger eels (12 cm +) are more likely to have a go at eating smaller fish and crayfish.

You can keep crayfish and fish together successfully. However i've had a few crayfish disappear over time and i'm pretty sure it’s the eels. Crayfish may also occasionally catch a small fish.

Keep an eye out for white spot, often the stress of capture will cause an outbreak in the first week or so.

All the above animals are reasonable escape artists, especially when new to a tank so make you’re your lid is tight fitting.

[Stella]

Woo hoo! It seems more people are catching on to hte idea of native fish!

We have a cray with our natives (bullies ad inanga). He would take the occasional nip, but nothing bad. They learn to keep out of his way. Crays are largely vegetarian but will eat anything that comes their way. They are built like tanks, but it is all about defence not aggression. If one appears aggressive it is probably scared silly!

I dont give mine flake. IT isnt well recieved, and esily turns into tiny bits the fish cant be bothered eating. Frozen bloodworm are very convienient and loved by everyone.

It seems whitebait can inhale pretty large food. Mine will eat blood- and white-worms.

Feel free to private message me if you want! I am kinda obsessive about natives at the moment

Stella

[Sirkus]

i know its slightly off topic in the fact that its on the other side of the world but i did this with local uk fish. it doesnt seem like there is quite as much diversity but i managed to catch a goby, loads of minnows which to this date i am still unsure of the species and also a fair few plants, which isnt really allowed in this country but i only took a small sample, not the whole plant . i managed to hijack my sis' tank to convert it from a boring old goldfish only tank to have loads of minnows, that goby and a fair gfew stone loach which are still in there (which were also caught at the local river - known as the Tyne). the tank looked really good just a shame the big shubunkin decided minnows would be fun to eat, and started eating 2 at a time lol, i was a little angry as they dont travel well to begin with :evil: theres a few pics of the river where i got em from on my msn space (see link below)

[shadowfax]

i kept f/w crays for about 2 years, they will eat your fish if they get a chance, they wait untill they are swimming past & grab hold of their tails, also snails are on the menu, we used to catch them at taupo round the boats using a piece of meat tied to a string & dangle it down to them, they would grab hold & you could slowly pull the string up & grab them. you need a lid on your tank because they climb up the airline, found this out the yukky way, got up one nite to use the loo & stood on something abit squishy...it had got out of the tank & crawled into my bedroom....