HaNs Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Anyone here done this? Experiences? I have been told that my tank will need to be kept under 22c. Its currently @ 20c Trying to decide if i should get Giant/s or normals I have access to Kokopu on a Tauranga farm, funny feeling they will be normals and not Giants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 you maybe surprised as to what type they are, there are a lot of giants in this area temp needs to be kept down otherwise you can have fungal problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 you maybe surprised as to what type they are, there are a lot of giants in this area temp needs to be kept down otherwise you can have fungal problems May go for a hunt in the coming weeks, we will see what they are! Temp down how low? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey HaNs, I have giants and bandeds (normals?! hehehe). Bearing in mind that giants (in the wild) can grow to 40cm they may become somewhat more of a challenge in the future than bandeds (20cm). Also the bigger the fish the bigger it's food needs to be. Any kokopu are much more sensitive to temperature than bullies or inanga. Apparently bandeds (I only know in relation to them, it probably also goes for giants) are extremely sensitive to ammonia. Ammonia is more toxic at higher temperatures and at a higher pH. A suggestion I have had recently is that to keep the water at a lower pH gives a little more buffer should the tank get a little too warm, as it stops the ammonia getting to the more toxic variety. A way to do this is to use a small amount of peat in a nylon stocking secreted in the filter or hidden under rocks. This will also make the water soft and tannin-y (brown) which makes it more like the favoured natural habitats. (and it can have an antibacterial effect, very handy against disease) Livingart is right, fungal problems can be a big issue with kokopu (and all galaxiids) as is whitespot. High temps increase stress which can increase the likelihood, also it makes life easier for the fungus to grow. It can be swift and nasty, kick-ass salt dips are effective if caught in time. That said I have not had any health problems in a good long time. ....nor have the fish. Anyway, not trying to scare you, just stuff to be aware of. They can be a bit aggressive, and much more so after two or three years (sexual maturity). Some to the extent of needing to keep them apart. I have one banded that is a real stroppy little fish. I have heard of bandeds eating their slightly smaller tank mates. Still not trying to put you off Like all natives: THEY ROCK!!! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Hey HaNs, I have giants and bandeds (normals?! hehehe). Bearing in mind that giants (in the wild) can grow to 40cm they may become somewhat more of a challenge in the future than bandeds (20cm). Yeh i couldn't find the name(hang over :roll: ) Large tanks don't faze me when they get bigger they eat more terrestrial insects (in the wild). THey lurk under the flotsam in slow pools waiting for bugs to fall in from vegetation above. Hve been known to eat blackberries..... and cicadas Above quote is for others benefit Anyone know the growth rate of giants? Stella doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 This is a *great* little resource, very interesting stuff, should cover a lot of your questions. However it was done in fairly limited space which may have caused problems between the species and with introducing new specimens. There was much eating and bullying of others. It is a fairly old paper (1969) and some stuff may be better known now. Even so, print it out immediately! http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-B ... dy-d6.html Bandeds (wild): 1+ years old 7-10cm 2+ years old 10-12cm Giant (captive from whitebait): One specimen, 9.5cm after 14 months (apparently very slow) (mine are much shorter.... need to feed them more. I am also currently working on getting my aggressive male redfin out of that tank, he has 3/4 of the four foot tank to himself, and six kokopu live in the remaining foot..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komatose Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Where is a good place around the Tauranga area to go and collect or at least check out a good cross section of native fish and inverts(Koura). My kids are just at that age where they are starting to appreciate some of these sorts of things! We caught a couple of Tadpoles and a froglet? the other day which they thought was great and are having heaps of fun catching flies etc. to feed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Will Kokopu take dry food? Would like to keep some too, But I don't always have access to live food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Where is a good place around the Tauranga area to go and collect or at least check out a good cross section of native fish and inverts(Koura). Find a stony bottomed stream with good forest cover, up to two metres wide, with a slow current, not very broken surface and up to a couple of feet deep. The last four items make it easier for you to see the fish... Two options: spotlighting or fishing. Spotlighting involved going to a good stream at night with a very bright torch (one each, less frustrating). Check out the stream first during the day so you know the access and where not to break your ankle. During the day go fishing. Bullies you may see out in the open during the day, and inanga, but other fish may be there but hiding. Look for areas of higher flow with large stones. Put your net down stream and near the stone. Pick up the stone and all manner of muck will be washed into it, hopefully including fish! Take many buckets and clear sided containers. Sunscreen is compulsory. Both are great things to do with a family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hi Jayci, Yes, they will take non-live food. My fish live off a staple diet of frozen bloodworms. I am also culturing whiteworms and earthworms (more suited to kokopu) indoors, as I don't have a garden to grow things in. I was recently put on to feeding them ox heart. You cut off all the fat, cut it into strips and freeze it. It is easier to cut really fine when frozen and will be defrosted by the time you finish with it. I may wind up cutting up a whole lot and freezing it in icecube trays for convenience. I got a couple of sheep's hearts today. I gave a little to my small kokopu. They seemed to think it was great (as is all food according to them!) and their stomachs are now so huge I fear for their structural integrity! They can also be fed trout pellets, crushed to a suitable size. I don't like the idea of commercial foods, they can have all sorts of cereals and who knows what else in them. I think I have been underfeeding my kokopu. I discovered recently they should be a whole lot bigger by now. They are certainly not skinny, but they are not as big as they ought to be. I am going to use the heart to feed them up on, and it will be much cheaper than bloodworm. Oh, and they like peas.... quite bizarre. They have been found in the wild with whole blackberries in their stomachs.... but they really need a insectivorous/carnivorous diet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 That's good to know, I may go native now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlemantaken Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Umm....for someone to know fish had a whole Blackberry in it I'm guessing the fish didn't come out of it very well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I always assumed it was discovered during a study on what they eat.... not sure though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Where is a good place around the Tauranga area to go and collect or at least check out a good cross section of native fish and inverts(Koura). My kids are just at that age where they are starting to appreciate some of these sorts of things! We caught a couple of Tadpoles and a froglet? the other day which they thought was great and are having heaps of fun catching flies etc. to feed them. try up by maclarens falls, or otanewainuku... theres a couple places out pyes pa or oropi ways, we did mci scores etc up there and got koura and a heap of inverts, so i imagine there should be some fish around... if they havent been trouted out.. or you could go down to barkes corner and see our friendly living art, and gaze into the streams around there ive seen heaps of galaxids down there... which reminds me that i need to survey them... hmm... you could send the kids along for that if you wish? ill be spotlighting and baiting the streams and i really need incentive to get onto it... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 giants are slow growers, get to arond 150mm then take ages to put on much size have a 43cm specimen in our system, haven't seen it since the recent landslip in the fernery destroyed its favourite hole had it in a tank for 2 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 lol I thought they were fast growing! I guess it depends on what you are comparing them with.... At about one year old they are circa 10cm, but really chunky. These fish get really FAT, so to grow much in length they need to put on a hell of a lot of bulk. They slow down as they get bigger. Livingart, I hope the kokopu wasn't in its hole when the slip happened! Mine (20cm) was eating daphnia last night, looked ridiculous for the size of it! (they were for the bullies). He is about 2.5 years old, but there was a stunting issue when he was a post-whitebait (bloodworms are NOT nutritious) and had a health issue recently and is only just putting back the fat reserves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Hi Stella et al For my discus I do the same as you do with the heart but I grate it over the tank with a microplane This might be easier for you to do as well, rather than cut frozen heart up ( maybe safer) Just be carefull about grate size of plane...to fine is to small and to coarse is big chunks so you just have to work out what works best. Another way is to use a food processor and chop it all then freeze with water into cubes (can use old blood worm trays) then just drop in a cube of heart. HTH Navarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 i did an exact size carving of it when it was in the tank, made out of an old fence post DOC guy estimated it around 40 yrs old it loved maggots and any insect i could throw in there i hope he wasn't in its hole either there are some other giants here but none i have seen near the size of this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 sorry wrong side, that was the side knot was on put paua eye in the other side wanted a keepsake of it but didn't want to keep it in the tank any longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Kewl keepsake. Tis often hard remembering how big they were when they are gone. I doubt the 40 years estimate though. Given the pre-eminent native fish scientist only feels confident enough to write that they are "long lived, perhaps more than twenty years", putting a figure like forty years on an individual seems somewhat arbitrary. Fish can be aged by looking at tiny disk-like bones (otoliths) in their 'ears', they grow concentrically as the fish grows, and rings are visible like with trees. Not sure of anything done with giant kokopu or other galaxiid otoliths, but generally a fish lives the harder it is to count the rings. The outer and middle ones are easier but the inner (older) ones get vague. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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