Ianab Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Caught this little fellow in the stream down in the garden on Monday. Booted the Bristlenose and a couple of guppies from the little tank, took out the heater and dropped him in. He seems to have settled in fine, fed him a pea last night. He has excavated a pile of gravel from under the log to make a better hiding spot and seem happy. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Nice markings How long is he? They can be keen excavators until they have just the right hiding spots, they they stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 How long is he? About 7cm I guess, a decent size. The neighbours little footbridge had washed away in a flashflood and was sitting under my steel bridge. When I went down to fish it out for him there were two of these hanging on it. I was able to grab this one Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 i wonder what i keep doing wrong because my koura only seem to die Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 i wonder what i keep doing wrong because my koura only seem to die need to be in cold well filtered water, most fish medications will kill them fast. love to eat earthworms.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 yeah I know all that. Heaps of rocks and plants. They were eating earth worms, neither seemed to like peas. I have a huge filter and a strong spray bar so the water is well filtered and recycled. The freshwater shrimp are doing great. So I don't know what I could be doing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 Update, he seems to be doing well, has become a lot braver. Eats Sera vipachips and Wardly pleco tablets, pounces on them as soon as they hit the bottom. Has stopped excavating too, but only because it reached the bottom of the tank :roll: Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeous Posted April 22, 2008 Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 Close up pic looks great :lol: How big is that tank?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted April 22, 2008 Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 Very neat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreedingFrenzy Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 That looks so cool. I'm incredibly jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Close up pic looks great :lol: How big is that tank?? Tank is only about 18l, but it has been set up for a couple of years and is well established. I just took the heater out and dropped him in. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Heir, I suspect your crays weren't interested in peas because they were being fed earthworms! Happy crays Are you tempted to get another no you know it was probably the water conditioner that was the problem before? I have to feed peas directly into the hands of my cray and even then the kokopu still try to steal it from him! Never trust a full insectivorous fish when there is a pea nearby... :roll: Ianab, when they are happy with their caves they stop excavating. Is that the whole bottom of the tank visible in that pic? If you are able to fit more things in there so he can be completely hidden he will probably stop excavating. Cool that he is doing so well otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Ianab, when they are happy with their caves they stop excavating. Is that the whole bottom of the tank visible in that pic? If you are able to fit more things in there so he can be completely hidden he will probably stop excavating. Cool that he is doing so well otherwise. He has excavated quite a cave under the little logs, it has 3 exits and seems to give him good cover. But another lump of driftwood is a good idea. I may set up a bigger coldwater tank once I get my new tanks set up, see how things go. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Excellent pics Ian, glad to hear he?she? is doing well What is that behind him? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 What is that behind him? A couple of lumps of old weathered driftwood, the cray has excavated a tunnel underneath as a hiding spot. Hence Stella's suggestion to get some more pieces. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Would a koura or 2 be alright in a cycled 30L tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted April 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Should be, that one is doing fine in a 20l. Look for smaller ones if you aren't sure. They only grow about 5mm per year, so it's going to take a while for them to outgrow the tank. I believe they start breeding at about 20mm (4 years old) Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 They breed at 2cm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 very tasty little morsel but i will stick with my crayfish and leave those little fellows alone have heaps of them in the streams up here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 very tasty little morsel but i will stick with my crayfish and leave those little fellows alone have heaps of them in the streams up here Want to send me a few small ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 I would only have one per tank as they are highly inclined to eat each other. Maybe two very small ones in a 3-4 foot tank would be ok. They are bottom dwellers (obviously) and rummage a lot, so a lot of floor space is recommended. They are COOL pets. It would be neat having just one in a tank as a pet. With growth rates they grow fast when tiny then slower and slower as they get older. The northern one can breed in less than two years I think, but the southern one takes much longer, the southern one takes much longer to do anything... but also grows longer.... trying really hard not to say anything dodgy here....! As for sending some down.... totally illegal (you need permits from DOC and MAF). Seriously take a torch down to a stream at night, you will be amazed at what you see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 Ive heard theres none in CHCH :-? No local streams either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 Really??? I thought there were people here who had found them.... Someone local will pipe up at some point no doubt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 So 1 of each species wouldnt get along with each other? That was the plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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