JaSa Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Hi there, does anyone have some information about a Sword Tail population down there? I heard a rumor that about a year ago some wild ones got sold to a local pet shop. I would be interested where they got caught or if someone still has them (pure) swimming in his tank. I would also like to find out if there are still some of the Mollies around which got caught on the last "Molly Hunt" 3 or 4 years ago? Thanks for your help, JaSa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 There is a stream on the Napier-Taupo highway which feeds into lake Taupo where years and years and years ago someone introduced swordtails, parts of this stream are very overgrown. I have been to this stream but found nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you for your answer ! Anyone else got some informations, please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 That is where we went molly hunting. Parts of the waterway are full of them! They are very hard to keep alive and need to be aclimated to a tank very very slowly. Here are pics from the Molly Hunt 2003. Note the first few pics are NOT of these fish :-) http://smg.photobucket.com/user/carylnz ... t=2&page=1 There are 2 pages. In the past few years I am not sure what it is like. Perhaps Jim is right and they have now gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 THANK you !!! Am I right that you don't have them swimming anymore? Thanks again, JaSa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 If you mean does anyone have them in a tank, I have no idea. As you see, those pics were taken 10 years ago. I seem to remember those few who managed to keep them alive and then thriving could not mix them with captive bred fish. I shall look through past magazines and see if I can find any other info for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Here are the pics (198) from 2007... http://smg.photobucket.com/user/carylnz ... t=2&page=1 Some close-ups of the fish in amongst all the other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Here are parts of an article that was written at the time. Nothing with the details you asked about though... Many years ago someone released some tropical mollies into the hot springs there and they have been breeding prolifically ever since. The mollies have all reverted back to their original colouring but are still pretty. Every now and then a Hunt is organised, just for the fun of it. This time around it was also a chance for some members of the FNZAS website forum “The Fishroom” to finally meet face to face after only communicating via the forum or chat room. It is always good to put a face to a name but disconcerting when the person looks nothing like you pictured them to look like! The gathering started at 10am with a short lecture from Dave, the DOC man. He wanted to make sure we were aware of didymo and the effect it has on our waterways. We were informed that as long as all our nets and gear were dried out and left for at least 48 hours, it was then safe to use them in other waters as the organisms would have died by then. Although didymo has not yet been found in the North Island it is probably only a matter of time. Having checked none of our gear had been used in other waterways in the 48 hours prior to the hunt as well, we were cleared to start wading. The water is extremely hot in places so it was recommended shoes be worn to avoid feet getting burnt. Even so, a few reported mild burns after getting to close to an underwater vent. A large variety of nets and containers were utilised by all and sundry. Some had very small nets while others had such huge ones we looked to see if they had a ship attached! Catching the mollies was very simple (usually) as you just swept along with your net to try and catch the fish between the net and the bank, or reeds. Separating them from the mud was another matter. It wasn’t long before the water was very muddy and you couldn’t see a thing, apart from various bodies wading along or coming to an unexpected halt as their shoes got stuck in the muddy bottom. I ended up with pockets full of car keys, cell phones and sundry other goods as waders realised it might not be a good idea to have these things on them in the middle of the swamp. The majority of mollies are female, with the few males lording it over the very large female numbers. This picture shows the steam rising from the water behind Dave and Andrew. This shows how hot it was as the air temperature was reasonable with most wearing T shirts, except for those of us who decided rainwear was a better idea. The fine mist continued the whole time we were there, which was just over an hour. Although we were told koi carp and catfish used to be found in this area, none were spotted on the day. It is possible the water is now too hot for them and they have escaped through the culverts to cooler waters. As well as having 20 people from The Fishroom, we had 7 FNZAS clubs represented - Kapi-Mana Aquarium Club, Wellington Aquarium & Watergarden Society, Waikato Aquarium Society, Auckland Fishkeepers Association, Western Bay of Plenty Aquarium & Watergarden Society, NZ Killifish Association and the Marlborough Aquarium Club. So, as you can see, people travelled from as far away as Auckland in the north and Blenheim in the south. A great turn-out and good fun was had by all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Any information about leopard fish? Do they still exist in the waterways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I was not aware of any in the waterways. Certainly not down my way anyway! There are people breeding them though. A lovely little fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 bought four leopard fish on TM, two committed suicide and did jump out of the tank, two just died simultaneously, the wcmm together with them in the same tank are doing fine. maybe I'm not leopard fish compatible :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Any information about leopard fish? Do they still exist in the waterways? I don't believe that any were found in waterways, only in some fram troughs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thanks @ Caryl for all the information :gpo2: Cheers, JaSa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I wish we had Leopard fish in our waterways up here but instead we have millions of Gambesia lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I wish we had Leopard fish in our waterways up here but instead we have millions of Gambesia lol Just collect them and sell them on trademe as guppies you caught in a stream. Everyone does it! (MAF if you're reading this I'm not serious.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Lol one way of making easy money i guess hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I wish we had Leopard fish in our waterways up here but instead we have millions of Gambesia lol I saw masses in the ponds above the falls in the Bay of Islands too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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