Raising whitebait for native aquarium

[Stella]

We went whitebaiting a couple of weeks ago so we could grow them up for our native tank. Unfortunately we have lost about 1/2 of them!

We had them in a big largely bare tank with lots of aeration. Fed them whiteworms which they caught on to pretty fast. However I think they were a bit big for the 'real' whitebait (there were some bigger more mature ones as well) and all the real whitebait died pretty quick But there have been sporadic older whitebait deaths too.

I am trying to keep the water quality good, especially given the deaths, and get the corpses out smartly then do a water change.

Has anyone else tried raising whitebait?

The other thing that interests me is what happens to a whitebait that DOESNT find a freshwater stream, and gets permanently lost at sea? They have physiological changes that happen when they reach freshwater, presumably this doesnt happen if they stay in salt water. But do they wind up maturing or simply expire past a certain age as whitebait?

Thanks heaps for any ideas.

Stella

(210 litre tank: 3 inanga, 4 bullies, 1 cray, uncountable whitebait and another tank with 3 tiny newts)

[alanmin4304]

I have found that when keeping cold water fish, both fresh water and marine is that they like cold water which is high in O2. The warmer the water gets the less O2 it will carry. You therefore need to keep them in the coldest place you can and stock the tank lightly. Whitebait are voracious feeders (once they start feeding) and will eat just about any live thing that will fit in their mouth. I understand they are annuals and therefore likely have pesonalities similar to the annual killies (eat like mad and grow like mad)

[Stella]

YEah I have been keeping a close eye on the temp and it is well within the acceptable range for galaxiids. The inanga (which i think these guys are) are much more tolerant of lower levels of dissolved oxygen than the other whitebait species. We have a chiller for the main tank but it is still many degrees below where that needs to come on.

Inanga are normally one-year species, but can live for a couple of years if they dont spawn, theough they are finding some survive spawning. The other species can live much longer, even taking a good few years to become sexually mature.

Next time we get some (we really want some koaro and kokopu) we will have some daphnia ready, I think the babies would be tiny enough for the whitebait to eat.

Stella

[alanmin4304]

When I was at high school (hate to think how long ago that was) we kept whitebait with tadpoles of whistling frogs briefly. I think you may be surprised at what size of live food they will eat.

[Raul]

Using a bit of seawater (around 5-10%) in your tank can help, reduces the chance of whitespot outbreaks and the like. Whitespot is the only problem i've had with newly caught fish, except for the odd jumper/climber.

It can also be a good idea to collect a couple of buckets of water where you caught your fish and then use that in your tank, helps reduce any stress from changing to different water types. But whitebait are normally pretty hardy with changes in water conditions as they do swim from the ocean into freshwater.

I did have quite a few deaths once, but it turned out what i thought was whitebait were in fact baby smelt, smelt are notoriously hard to keep alive through the catching and acclimating to the tank stage but once they have acclimated they're pretty hardy. Smelt whitebait swim differently from proper whitebait, smell like a cucumber, and also have an adipose fin.

[whetu]

It seems you've covered most of your bases and you're obviously aware that the generic term "whitebait" refers to four or five distinct species.

I've never kept them but from what I've heard the key elements are excellent water quality and a swift current.

Jansen's in Mt Eden Rd, Auckland have adult captive-bred inanga for sale, and there's also a lovely freshwater tank at Auckland Museum. A quick call to either of those places may help if you have specific questions. A visit would be even better!

Good luck, and please let us know how you get on with the remaining whitebait.

*resists the temptation to offer recipes* :-?

[Caryl]

We kept 8 whitebait in a 2ft tank for almost 3 years with no problems. Just fed on flake food. If I remember correctly they just had an UGF and I can't remember what we did with them or if they just died. They belonged to my son who was about 7 at the time. he is now 24

They were called Pattie 1, Pattie 2, Pattie 3 etc :lol:

[K R Brown]

i had 14 now i have 7 i think the eel ate em thou as they just disapered out of thin air