M@. Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 I had a look in a nearby stream on the weekend and found it was full of Koaro! very exciting for me as I hadnt seen them before, and they look so cool! Has anyone kept them before? Would they need a riffle aquarium or spend most of their time hiding? (the ones I caught were all hiding under rocks in quick flow areas, although I did see something bigger swimming in a pool) Also, I have one banded kokopu at the moment, I guess they wouldn't realy be compatable as they have quite different environments. Has anyone kept them together before? lastly, I assume I am correct in thinking that you can only take galaxiids (any age) during whitebait season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghaz Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 awesome to hear you've found a nice population of them in our area. Where abouts in Welly? I did have some quite a while ago, and i had them in a tank with a decent flow in it, where as Kokopu i have kept have been with less flow, especially on the surface. Im very disheartened to say, but in the last 10 or so years the population of natives around my area(Kapiti) has diminished quite considerably. I have a stream in the back yard and haven't seen Koura in at least 5 years, yet when i was younger there would be one every metre or 2 and most fish are limited to just whitebait and nothing larger. starting to see an increase in bully's and shrimp too. Although on the weekend when feeding the Eels (Which there are plenty, a nice almost 2metre girl about 10cm diameter, and about 15 .5-1m sized eels eating from my hand.) I did notice a ~7-8cm Banded Kokopu and was pretty stoked they're still in my area as last one i saw in the stream of that size was back in 2007, but he/she had a couple big bites taken out of it. also some dinner plate sized flounder were scuttling around, easy to catch and the nieces and nephews love learning about them, freaked them out a bit with the eyes on the top lol. Im hoping the populations are going to improve as i love to sit on my bridge observing the natives . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Wow, supprising about the Koura! Every muddy tricle of water I have poked my nose into seems to have heaps of koura in it... What is up stream of your property? Cool about the eels, I used to feed some where my parents used to live, took a while for them to figure out where the food was comming from :gigl: awesome to hear you've found a nice population of them in our area. Where abouts in Welly? They were in Waipapa stream near Red Rocks, so it has a fairly healthy catchment, if a bit bare. I didn't collect anything but assume you would be able to as it isn't DOC land, etc. Also, after reading through the sticky on this forum, it sounds as though you would be able to get the adults at any time of year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghaz Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Wow, supprising about the Koura! Every muddy tricle of water I have poked my nose into seems to have heaps of koura in it... What is up stream of your property? Also, after reading through the sticky on this forum, it sounds as though you would be able to get the adults at any time of year? I might have to get out there this weekend and check what species we have at the moment, last weekend was just a look at what was swimming around, didn't overturn any rocks or low lying branches/leaves. Its mainly just private property along the stream, its a 2 metre wide, ankle-waist deep stream from 2(as far as i can tell) branches off Waikanae river(the main river has water treatment catchments upstream quite a way). have done testing on the stream and it's very high quality water fed by multiple springs. and i dont think the council likes maintaining the stream as it took a couple of phone calls to get them to come and clear it, as they're supposed to each spring or however often. over summer i did notice a drain pipe being drained into the stream. It was put in in the last few years some time without our knowledge, you have to cross our property to get access to that part, I promptly blocked it with concrete(after a little homework) lol. So it may just be some inconsiderate fools dumping tainted water/trash in the stream. Also seeing as its a holiday home area, alot of people dump crap in the area, and go and 'feed' the Eels, only to end up spearing the creatures and leaving them to die which i have seen the aftermathe, and approached the parents, ending with them not allowed to cross our property to access the stream. We used to be quite considerate but in recent times we have been forced to be a bit Nazi about it, but thats what theft and destruction to property does to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I might have to get out there this weekend and check what species we have at the moment, last weekend was just a look at what was swimming around, didn't overturn any rocks or low lying branches/leaves. Should go for a spotlight! I find thats the easiest way to find out whats hanging around. Let me know what you find! Also seeing as its a holiday home area, alot of people dump crap in the area, and go and 'feed' the Eels, only to end up spearing the creatures and leaving them to die which i have seen the aftermathe, and approached the parents, ending with them not allowed to cross our property to access the stream. We used to be quite considerate but in recent times we have been forced to be a bit Nazi about it, but thats what theft and destruction to property does to ya. Totaly fair enough! my Grandma's batch is in a similar situation with people from a camp using it as an accesway to the beach (when there is plenty of legitimate options around) I heard a horrendous story of 100 year old 'tame' eels being killed with a nail gun somewhere up north a few years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonka Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 no, never kept them. pretty sure they inhabit the central north island, volcanic crater lakes , but could be wrong. probly need a large, well aged/settled tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Not kept them myself but they are fantastic fish in the wild. I have seen them in the same stream, even pools as banded kokopu but would probably like more current. Seen this thread?: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=3081 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Seen this thread?: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=3081 No I hadn't, but now I have! (was that the link you meant to post?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@. Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Just found this thread: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=49251 some good food for thought. I could adjust my water flow to accommodate the banded as well, but have a pretty dodgy lid at the moment and want to see how my temperature pans out with my tank in a new location. Might look at them in the future, but at the moment Im really after some red fins! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 No I hadn't, but now I have! (was that the link you meant to post?)umm... no that wasn't the one I meant to post... viewtopic.php?f=41&t=30815 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonka Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 nice link. the 1st link had me scratchin my head a bit.. i have never had a tank scaped like that. looks cool. i would think that uneaten food would be problematic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonka Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 http://www2.mdbc.gov.au/subs/fish-info/ ... axias.html heres a bit i found on them. dont know if the link will work thou, i have never tried to copy and paste a link before. a 1st time for everything! landlocked, translocated.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonka Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 just read thru the whole of that rock tank post. wow! i should of seen it coming, and in the end, it did! sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 My current native tank is using small stones and I has to thin them out to only about 15-20mm thick as too much food was getting lost in them. At that depth the torrentfish can turn them over and clean up anything the bullies miss. All the koaro in Taupo (and many other lakes) are landlocked and a few lakes (Taupo) were stocked by Māori. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I don't recall having any issues with uneaten food in that tank. The torries were unbelievably at sniffing out scraps of food, and I fed them slowly so most got eaten before it hit the ground. (some needed to hit the ground - torries are absolutely pathetic while trying to learn how to take food midwater, their little jaw is so undercut). Koaro are one of my big favourites, but they are very difficult in aquaria, mainly due to being insane escape artists. I put two koaro in that riffle tank, which had a 5cm lip all the way around. They escaped the first night - crawling up a freaking powercord! They are also very sensitive to raised temperatures. I don't think I would try keeping them again till I have a kickass system that circulates from a stream or huge rainwater tank, to buffer the temperature. (and, like, a house. I live in a small campervan, hence being so quiet here these days.) They can be quite timid, especially initially (expect any newly captive koaro to stay completely hidden for at least two weeks). Koaro can have very different temperaments - some are very timid, others are fine, and others are so aggressive that they have to be kept in permanent solitary confinement for the safety of others. Regarding your legal question: *technically* the whitebaiting laws only relate to the 'juveniles' of the five diadromous galaxiids. Biologically a kokopu is a juvenile (i.e. not sexually mature) for two or three years, but no one in their right mind would call a 12cm banded a juvenile! My recommendation to anyone is that if you want to take a group of *whitebait* then make sure you know and follow the laws. If you want to take post-whitebait (adult shape and colouration is starting, does *not* look like a whitebait) then you don't need to worry about the whitebaiting laws. In addition, ethically, avoid taking adults, large numbers of anything from one site, any fish from small populations, or anything you are not prepared for at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Thats all really good advice Stella, ever thought about writing a book about keeping natives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 8, 2013 Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 shaddup :phb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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