Benny Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Has anyone ever kept Inanga or any other whitebait species? I was down in Hokitika at Christmas time and visited their aquarium where they have a huge cicrular tank with native eels, and in a seperate tank they have an Inanga which is 20 years old. I thought he was a very nice fish, but apparently very aggressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 We kept 7 inanga for a couple of years in a 2ft tank. They are a very pretty fish but my West Coast born father was horrified and said it was a waste of good whitebait. He wanted to wait until they were full grown and big enough to make a pattie out of each one There are several different species and the ones found in Marlborough don't grow very big - about 8cm from memory. Others, like the kokopu, grow like oscars. The Underwater World at Hokitika is great isn't it? I have been a couple of times now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted May 14, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Have you ever tried to keep them at tropical temperatures? You could couldn't you, as I believe goldfish are coldwater fish that can be kept at tropical temps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Inanga are coldwater fish and I think it would stress them to put them in higher temperatures. Some people say goldfish can be kept at tropical temperatures but I believe these are at the lower end of the scale (lower 20'sC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted May 14, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Darn I would really love to have a giant kokopu in my aquarium, I heard they get to 40cm. Is it true that Inanga are agressive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Seems there are a few species of Inanga> I'd never heard of these, so I looked them up. The final statement was, Inanga make good pets and can be trained to eat out of your hand. Try raising some in a cool-water aquarium or use them instead of goldfish in outdoor pools and ponds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Try ringing Underwater World and asking them. I am sure they would know. The bigger ones may be aggresive but the smaller ones weren't. They just swam about in a school quite happily. Mind you, they were the only ones in the tank so they didn't have anyone else to harrass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 Seems there are a few species of Inanga> I'd never heard of these, so I looked them up. http://www.niwa.cri.nz/rc/freshwater/fi ... inanga.htm http://www.niwa.cri.nz/rc/freshwater/fi ... inanga.htm The final statement was, Inanga make good pets and can be trained to eat out of your hand. Try raising some in a cool-water aquarium or use them instead of goldfish in outdoor pools and ponds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted May 14, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 how would you go about catching them though? I have been to a few rivers and have only seen a few common bullys. The giant kokopu looks like quite a beautiful fish, but niwa said it is rare now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 The trouble with keeping them in ponds is their colouring. Very hard to see when looking down. If you have a pond with a glass side so you could see them side-on underwater it would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 14, 2002 Report Share Posted May 14, 2002 You can only catch them during whitebait season, otherwise it is illegal. You also have to know which rivers to look in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted May 15, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2002 I had a look on the niwa website that showed what the distribution of Inanga is and it showed they are present in Northland, so they must be able to withstand 18 degree water temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted May 23, 2002 Report Share Posted May 23, 2002 Benny said... > ... had a look on the niwa website that showed what the > distribution of Inanga is and it showed they are present in > Northland, so they must be able to withstand 18 degree > water temperature. Bear in mind that a shaded forest stream (where Galaxius spp tend to hang out) is not going to be as warm as a shallow lake or pond, no matter what the ambient temperature is... I've caught G. maculatus (the common Inanga) mostly in small shallow streams around Palmerston North (including over my back fence in the Mangaone Stream, within the city limits), which doesn't mean that they don't occur in bigger rivers of course... Have a look at: http://www.nzfreshwater.org/ for good info on NZ native fish. It includes captive maintenance info at: http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_aquaria.html There is also a mailing list based at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nzfreshwater Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleatidium Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Inanga favour gently flowing and still waters - estuaries, lowland rivers and streams, lagoons and backwaters, where it is found in small to large, roving midwater shoals. They are found pretty much generally at low elevations around the entire NZ coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted June 1, 2002 Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 i had then in tropical and cold water but they only lived for 3 to 4 mouths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 2, 2002 Report Share Posted June 2, 2002 Hi Dennis, Welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Would be great to hear about your fish in the "Welcome" section. Find yourself a logo (Avatar) and it will appear next to all your posts once you apply it to your profile. We have two lots of boards, this one and the one above with the two fish (fnzas.org) where there is more info on fish, plants and such. Regards Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted June 13, 2002 Report Share Posted June 13, 2002 I had a talk to DOC. It is illegal to catch whitebait at any time other than whitebait season. However, whitebait are juvenile Inanga. It is legal to catch Adult Inanga any time of the year. If you are going to catch some, please be responsible about it. Try not to destroy the habitat and only take a few at a time. Do not strip fish an area! Helpful hint, Inanga like to swim along the bottom of the stream. They are very fast and extemely difficult to catch during the day. The first time I went out to catch some yeilded 5 in 2 hours. The biggest secret is to go at night. They are a bit slugish, and you can sneak up on them. They usually hide in deep areas at the edge of plant lines. When I went at night, I caught 10 in about 5 minutes. That was enough, so I went home. I still have 14 in a coldwater setup in the fishroom (one jumped out a crack it would have had to squeeze thru). I've had them for about 1 year now. They adjust well to captivity and eat just about anything (Flake, Crumble, Beef Heart, Shrimp, Bloodworms...) They sit at about 18-20'C and pH of 7.0. They are all about 100mm long now (about 60mm long when caught). They were young adults. Adults are quite easy to identify as they loose the clear body and develop a gold line down their side. If you catch clear ones out of season, put them back. There is quite a big fine if you are caught with them. They are a neat fish with tons of character and are always active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextret Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 I visited the Palmerston North Wet Pets today, and found that they sell inanga for $5 a piece. I am quite fascinated with them. I asked Wet Pets people if I can keep them in a pool outside. They told me that I can not because they need moving water. Also, it appears that inanga jump a lot, so their tank should be thoroughly sealed. Indeed, the aquarium they keep them in has a powerful undergravel filter (it appears to be the only tank they have with a powerhead-driven filter, in the rest they push water through gravel by running air from a pump). Also, they have a stone with bubbles in that tank, so indeed, the water is moving all the time. Inanga, and some other native fish appear to be in good spirits. The "pond" I have is actually some sort of a contraption for bathing children, I guess, should be 300 liters plus. I make the water from the roof to flow through it, so it gets a thorough water change everytime it rains. However, although Palmy is generally rather wet, it does not rain all the time, and there are occasional lengthy dry spells, so my "pond" would not qualify as a surrogate stream. For the sake of the creatures I resisted the temptation to buy some and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilo Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Thats cheap! They were $9.95 each at Jansons a few months ago. Got 4 myself but they ended up being eaten by the Banded Kokopu (expensive fish food!) I think they would be fine in the pond if the water quality is high enough and steady. Inanga live in very slow moving streams and backwaters with some closley related species living in lakes etc. Yes they do jump well and can squeeze out of small gaps so make sure there are plants for them to shelter under and be happy. You may not see them much in a pool though. In a tank they are an intelligent and amusing fish to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Jansens Mt Eden currently have Inanga which have been farm bred. We can also get in Banded Kokapu and very recently there have been a couple of other native fish species available which we can order on request. Inanga are awesome jumpers, love their food and are good with goldfish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Warren you can only bait in day ligth hours other wise its good by net, car etc. Could try just putting some bait in the tank and see what they turn out like. Bait are differrent from area to area. South island bait is usually shorter and fatter where as NI West coast bait is longer and skinnery. Sounds like its going to be a good season with good catchers around the Catlands, CHCH and early but it wasn't me Greymouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 I miss my white bait patties. A couple of years ago, we got my mum to bring some back with her. Might be time to send her back for a holiday &a feed run. :lol: Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Funny thing is my brother in Perth gets a feed of Teoroa (sorry about sp but large shellfish looks like big tipee (sp)) about once a month from guys coming back from Southland. Apparently the locals at the Pa eat it all the time and when I've been down at Tuatapere at the pub blokes have it setting in buckets while they have a quick beer then off home to cook them up. No wonder seasons are every 5 years or what ever. NZ the land of two laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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