Natives for a 200L Pond

[MJay]

Hi guys,

As the title suggests i'm looking for fish for a 200L pond, I'd like some natives, as the weather is warming up i am thinking of going out collecting fish for the pond, and something that can be caught locally, I live in canberra so I'd prefer something that can handle the winters and Water temperatures of 5 degrees in the winter and 30 degrees in the summer, heating the pond in the winter while not impossible, i'd like to avoid it, there is power near the pond so i can filter it and heat it if need be, etc etc, the pond has nothing in it atm so i don't have to worry about mixing species.


Cheers

[Eddie Would GO]

hey mate.

I dont kno about local fish in the ACT but why not go a predator pond? get a saratoga? or are you after rainbows?

cheers eddie

[siemanthepieman]

along the same lines but not as agressive as i imagine a saratoga would be; salmon catfish? they range (very generally) from north - western australia, across the top and down the 'east coast', i don't know how far down, but I have kept them in a pond in adelaide when they got too big for a mates aquarium and as far as I know they are still going strong (we sold the house and left them behind, the first new owners loved them, but don't know who's there now that its been sold again)

[MJay]

sourcing a saratoga would be my only problem becuase i'm not sure they can be caught locally, and at the lfs there is one or 2 but at $250each it's out of my price range, i've read on the net they are found in the fitzroy river system and some have been transferred to other areas, but i'm not sure where these other areas are? i'm not ruling that idea out, it's just a matter of getting one with out spending that kind of money and not travelling abroad, also would it outgrow my pond?, i don't mind rainbows either, not sure what can be caught in and around the ACT though, i'd rather catch one then buy it, for this 'project'. i've heard that the salmontail catfish likes to be kept with another one of it's kind? else it sits at the bottom of the tank and sulks. and i'm not sure that my 200L pond would be big enough for them once they become adults. i like both the suggestions, its just a matter of it not outgrowing my pond, ( i'd love a big pond, but i have parents... need more be said? lol ) so i geuss maybe rainbows? any other suggestions? or advice on the two fish already suggested? and also any info on fishing in and around the ACT

cheers

[Sildan]

If you can get hold of some of those southern pygmy perch they might be alright. It gets bloody freezing in ACT though so I don't know how some of the northern rainbows will go. You could try bass or golden or silver perch but the golden perch might be a bit big. Another option if you can find some near you are some species of galaxias. The southern variety of blue-eye might also be an option

[abellm]

Try for the following -

Philypnodon grandiceps - Flathead Gudgeon
Galaxias maculatus - Common Jollytail
Galaxias olidus - Mountain Galaxias


There should be an ACT survey in the ANGFA Database.

Regards,
Mark

[Dave]

When I lived in Canberra I caught fish in the creeks along southern coastal regions. One of my favourite places that had Pacific Blue-eyes and Carp Gudgeon was Currumbine Creek. Another gopod collecting place was the Clyde River. There are some really nice little fish in there. There is also a spiny crayfish in the Clyde fresh water that has bright red spikes. I kept a small bass from Cabbage Tree Creek for 5 years before letting him go in the same place it was caught.

Up in the Hills out of Canberra there are Galaxias that are interesting. I used to catch Galaxias in the rock pools below Googong Dam.

Cheers
Dave

[MJay]

thanx for the input guys, do you know of any good sites for identifying fish? or any good books? i think this will be my main problem with catching fish, is identifying it correctly.

[siemanthepieman]

Sorry MJay, I overlooked the fact it was a 200L pond, I just read pond, and thought big, the tank the Salmon Catfish outgrew was about 210L.

And don't ask me about identification. If I don't know what something is, it just gets classified as an 'I like it' or an 'I don't'

[Dave]

The most recent good book for identifyng native fishes is the 2002 book by Gerald Allen, Hamar Midgley and Mark Allen called "Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia" It was published by the WA Museum.

You can also look on the ANGFA database. http://db.angfa.org.au

Cheers
Dave

[MJay]

thanks for the book reccomendation dave, looks like a good book, btw the shrimp you sent are doing well, and are quite active will let you know how the glosso grows.

cheers

[zoggin eck]

How about Retropinna semoni - Australian Smelt, has anyone had this as a pond (or even aquarium) fish? Seems OK with temperatures (even for my area!) Not sure about looks though, in the store they are clear, but you can't really go by that. One of the photos here is quite red/orange

http://www.nativefish.asn.au/smelt.html

http://kids.mdbc.gov.au/basin_fish/a...smelt#Habitats

Just a thought

[MJay]

thanks for all the suggestions, i think i will borrow the book dave mentioned (ACT libraries has two copies) and maybe a few others, and do a bit of reading, a bit of fishing, and have some fun!! I'll also check out the damn across the road at the nature reserve, and see what inverts etc are around. and soon i'll start a new thread for my pond project, and keep all of you guys informed and updated.

cheers

[Jim]

Another gopod collecting place was the Clyde River. There are some really nice little fish in there. There is also a spiny crayfish in the Clyde fresh water that has bright red spikes. I kept a small bass from Cabbage Tree Creek for 5 years before letting him go in the same place it was caught.

Those spiky yabbies up from the causeway in the Clyde are awesome. They look like centurions marching around. The Clyde and all the tributaries is a wonderful place to canoe in and as Dave said there is lots of interesting fish.


Heres a link to a pdf file put out by the NSW Govt for farmers for identifying FW fish and saving their habitat -

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/ass...fish-guide.pdf

[Cloudy]

How about what Grubs has in his pond http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...ght=grubs+pond , some Melanotaenia fluviatilis, Murray River Rainbowfish. They should be fine with the weather conditions, but apparently you'll be lucky to see them again!

Cloudy