warrenp Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 I found loads of these in a dried up creek pond today in Featherston, Wairarapa, living with some tiny bullies and an eel. They are all small (about 4cm long). I imagine they are baby brook trout or something similar, but I can't find an identifying photo anywhere on the net... Any ideas anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 I'd say you're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquagold Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 Let the local DOC know as they would be very interested in knowing where different fish stocks are showing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 i ave no idea but its a nice looking fish how many did u get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquagold Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 Put me down for some if your shipping any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 Put me down for some if your shipping any I think he might get in a bit of trouble for catching fish without a license if he did that...And undersize too. :lol: Go to images.google.com and search for "Trout Fry" You'll come up with heaps of fry that look just like that. The stripe pattern seems very distinctive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 I had some of them in a pond many years ago and they hardly grew at all over two years. They need cold clean highly oxygenated water which you don't find in a goldfish pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenp Posted November 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 Thanks Ira, 'Fry' was the word I was looking for last night. Apparently brook trout are only found on the volcanic plateau in the NI so I think these must be rainbow trout (brown trout fry look different having caught one years ago). No I won't tell DOC and risk a fine... It seems highly absurd... I mean if they were giant kokopu (somewhat endangered and uniquely native to NZ) I could've taken them home for my aquarium, but if I do the same with these globally populated introduced competitors to native fish (partially responsible for their declining numbers) I could get booked??? And what about whitebait being undersized?... I'd gladly ship them for cost but I don't think they'd make the journey (needing such high oxygenation). If anyone is passing by Featherston, feel free to pick some up. email warrenpreiss at gmail dot com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 how many of these did u get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carla Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 And you really think that DOC and MAF do NOT read this messageboard??? And especially not a thread with such a distinctive title? :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 Trout is on "unwanted" list there isn't it. Rainbow trout, many people would love to be fishing for them here! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 How many would I need for a pattie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 How many would I need for a pattie? Depends of the size of the pattie They look like young trout to me(from my experience :roll: ) Better put them back asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenp Posted November 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Well if I put them back I will surely get booked! (that is if DOC employees spend their summer workdays lounging on the net browsing aquarium hobbyist forums... ) See, it hasn't rained here for quite some time and it has also been very hot the last few days. The creek they came from has now mostly dehydrated back to only underground flow, and the tiny puddle that had these fish in it yesterday (already worse for weather then) has now dried up completely and turned the few remaining specimens I failed to net into the fish equivalent of beef jerky (i.e. sun-dried preserved fish meat, but barely enough for a fritter...). I think I rescued about 7 or 8... of which I'd be happy to give most away to good homes (aquariums). However, certainly not to someone who will go and plonk these fellas into free flowing NZ waterways for the benefit of their later fishing pleasure! Nature had it to end their evolutionary and ecological significance and I wouldn't be too pleased with myself knowing I were accessory to further tipping the scales in favor of introduced fish... (I mean would anyone here after having rescued a distressed ship only to find it crewed by possums willingly release the throng of herbivores into a Pittosporum patulum grove?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 It sounds as though you did the same thing as me many years ago. Walking past a pond of water and seeing a shoal of fish that were shoaling but were not whitebait. All I had was a plastic bag and managed to drive part of the shoal into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Trout is on "unwanted" list there isn't it. Rainbow trout, many people would love to be fishing for them here! Caper Nope, it's on the "Sweet, we can charge people money to fish for them!" list. So, they're basically happy to have it introduced anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenp Posted November 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 It sounds as though you did the same thing as me many years ago. Walking past a pond of water and seeing a shoal of fish that were shoaling but were not whitebait. All I had was a plastic bag and managed to drive part of the shoal into that. What did they turn out to be? With me it was children who alerted me to the fish. I was busy trying to collect some cool water (slim chance) for my native tank and was ambushed by a group of children trying to catch the eels in the remaining mud of the big swimming hole downstream. We got to talking about native fish and bullies and so on and one burst out that there were loads of 'cockabullies' in a dried up pond further down, but that they had been unable to catch any with their empty chippies packets (not surprisingly). To which I promptly marched home for my net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Oh, Ira, I thought they weren't wanted in the waterways in New Zealand. :-? Yes, you need a fishing license here to fish for trout (plus other fishies too), I forget when fishing season is though. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Well if I put them back I will surely get booked! (that is if DOC employees spend their summer workdays lounging on the net browsing aquarium hobbyist forums... ) See, it hasn't rained here for quite some time and it has also been very hot the last few days. The creek they came from has now mostly dehydrated back to only underground flow, and the tiny puddle that had these fish in it yesterday (already worse for weather then) has now dried up completely and turned the few remaining specimens I failed to net into the fish equivalent of beef jerky (i.e. sun-dried preserved fish meat, but barely enough for a fritter...). I think I rescued about 7 or 8... of which I'd be happy to give most away to good homes (aquariums). DOC is the least of your worries- the acclimitisation society aka 'we love trout, even if they massacre natives' is the one that won't be happy- no license and undersized...I would contact them and say they were rescued..and if they say keep them then get in in writing or save the email. However, certainly not to someone who will go and plonk these fellas into free flowing NZ waterways for the benefit of their later fishing pleasure! Nature had it to end their evolutionary and ecological significance and I wouldn't be too pleased with myself knowing I were accessory to further tipping the scales in favor of introduced fish... (I mean would anyone here after having rescued a distressed ship only to find it crewed by possums willingly release the throng of herbivores into a Pittosporum patulum grove?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 I am sure they were trout but they hardly grew at all in 2 years. They went back to the river when I applied to import as I didn't think Maf would be too impressed seeing them in the pond. WCMM got given away as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenp Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 DOC is the least of your worries- the acclimitisation society aka 'we love trout, even if they massacre natives' is the one that won't be happy- no license and undersized...I would contact them and say they were rescued..and if they say keep them then get in in writing or save the email. I can't get a phone on the acclimitization society... google "new zealand acclimatization society" and you get 4 links, none with phone numbers or email addresses... Today I went up and down the creek a bit more. I saw quite a few dried trout fry and found another pool with some live ones including about a 25cm brown trout (whom I caught to look at then put back). I estimate there to be about 30 fry in this pond, but if it doesn't rain tomorrow I think this pond will also be dry and gone by Sunday. So if anyone would like me to rescue these fish for them, let me know quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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