Stella Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 A few photos of my 4' tank in the lounge. Just the two common bullies in it at the moment. I got them when they were maybe 5cm long, now he is 10cm and she is 8m, both seriously chunky! (female on left, male on right) For anyone trying to learn their bullies, note the black 'whiskers' under the eye and the tapered heads. Other species don't have the whiskers (except for the odd difficult Cran's) and have a much more blunt head. This tank is a bit bare at the moment. My giant kokopu died a few months ago and have been taking my time to decide what I will put in it next. I think I will go for a small school of smelt and a crayfish. Possibly also a small banded kokopu - the smelt will look pretty and fill the tank while the banded grows and by the time it is big enough to start causing problems, the smaller smelt would have started dying off. I may leave collection for a little while yet, not good moving fish into captivity in this heat. Yes P44, there are actual plants in this tank..... There is a tangle of Nitella in the back (a native branched algae that looks like a plant) and a native Potamogeton in the front. The Potamogeton was growing really well in my critter tank and I popped a bit in there to see if it will cope. It certainly won't survive a future crayfish, but the Nitella should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Nice fish, have they ever spawned? Didnt you post photos of bullies with spawn a while back, i cant find it? Im finding it tricky to get good pics of fish, nowhere near as easy as frogs. Good challenge none the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Yes, they have spawned twice (that I have seen) but the larvae need to go to sea to develop... not much sea in my tank. Took a while to find the thread you mentioned, till I remembered I had hijacked one of Codking's spawning threads: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=48367&start=0 (same common bully pair in this thread) I find bullies easy to photograph as they sit still on the substrate. Anything mid-water is a nightmare. Even so, with bullies I still wind up deleting the majority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Cool looking fish, and I like the look of the tank with the big rocks and wood too. If you do get a cray, will the bullies be ok with it? I'm guessing big bullies + little cray = ok? And out of interests sake, how big do the crays get? It isn't mentioned in your book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 If you do get a cray, will the bullies be ok with it? I'm guessing big bullies + little cray = ok? Yeah that is it. I find crays over 7cm can become quite dangerous to bullies, and under that it is important to make sure the bullies are bigger than the cray (of course they may grow at different rates). And out of interests sake, how big do the crays get? It isn't mentioned in your book Huh, good point... Basically I have no idea... I would guess easily up to 10cm, probably quite a bit more. I think I would up having trouble finding a decent authority on the sizes, and whether the size stated was body length or people truthfully exaggerating by including the nippers in the length (head to tail is the more realistic measurement). Also lake koura are bigger (I think?) than stream ones, and the southern species is bigger than the northern one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 read an article somewhere the other day, said wild koura normally around 10cm, captive bred/raised 12-15cm. generally slow growing though from what i can gather. considered an adult at something like 3cm.....not sure if that means they can breed that young but cool if they can. the little ones are pretty much exact replicas of the adults, maybe just lacking mature sexual organs. cool critters, neat to watch them moving the gravel around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Stella said... > ... he is 10cm and she is 8m... That's a big 'she'... ;-) Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Also lake koura are bigger (I think?) than stream ones, and the southern species is bigger than the northern one. That is promising... im in the North Island looking for Koura in streams, so maybe I get smaller versions Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 So I went spotlighting last night (I know, I am sick and shouldn't go out, but I needed to. Am paying for it today) Caught a bunch of crays and came home with the two smallest ones (about 4cm body length). Cute wee guys with lovely patterns: Also got a ponga frond. Been quite a while since I had one in the tank, but it looks so lovely - adds good texture and fills vertical space. It is a bit lurid green at the moment, but should brown off nicely over the next few months. Planaria are so crosseyed and cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I want one of them! Its green and stuff! Also - can you get me some red fins? males pref! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I want one of them! Its green and stuff! Also - can you get me some red fins? males pref! Come spotlighting with me Males are lovely, but inclined to be rather stroppy. It is nice to have a couple of males as their behaviours are more dramatic, but with equal or higher numbers of females to pad it out a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Again, that would involve getting wet at night :lol: I'm an old man! Sleep at 10pm, up at 6.30am! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Dear boy, one stands on the bank, with nets on long handles, and catches fish while trying to ignore the sounds of possums screaming blue murder. We left at 10pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Where's the fun if you don't get your feet wet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Dear boy, one stands on the bank, with nets on long handles, and catches fish while trying to ignore the sounds of possums screaming blue murder. We left at 10pm. you will lol at me if you find out how I caught my koura. Might be keen on a hunt this weekend or something. I want redfin bullies! :happy1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Well, I did go for a paddle (beach shoes ROCK in streams time time of year) but it is possible to fish there without getting wet, just see slightly fewer fish. Given the current rain and weather forecats, I daresay the Turitea will be a lovely raging brown murk by the weekend. So how did you catch your koura? Dipped your toe in then squealed when it bit you? Maybe that is why you don't want to get wet :lol: Didn't you say you caught some bullies too? Did they not go home with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 As Stella has said, the Turitea stream is full of redfins (and trout-lings). A person could catch a couple of males in 15 minutes and be home before 10:00pm. Assuming the possums didn't get you... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Here is one of mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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