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PCS & Stuart M. Grant - Cichlid Preservation Fund - Details here


pseudechisbutleri

Member Since 26 Apr 2016
Offline Last Active Mar 02 2024 06:27 PM

#367879 Wtb: Murray Cod

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 19 February 2021 - 09:53 PM

PASES Aqua in Cockburn currently has 5-7cm juvies for $20 each.




#367640 Nightfish

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 13 March 2020 - 09:26 AM

Definitely wouldn't be allowed to sell, they're both endangered and wild caught. Breeding them is encouraged though.




#367635 Nightfish

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 11 March 2020 - 08:48 PM

My time to shine :D

 

Nightfish are widely distributed across southwest WA, but within Perth, they're restricted to the upper reaches of rivers, think the Hills, or as malawiman85 said, the Ellen Brook area. I'm not too familiar with the Dawesville area, check it out this snazzy little website (http://freshwater.fish.wa.gov.au/) :). Juveniles are in abundance around spring, you'll catch more fish at night, by sweeping a scoop net through vegetation. Down south, they're quite common, especially in seasonal pools that dry out in summer, those pools are full of other native fish species too. I headed down south not too long ago and the pools at one site were full of baby nightfish. Unfortunately, most of them died on the way home, which is weird, because they usually handle transport well.

 

I've caught nightfish in the Moore and Canning rivers, plus a few more down spots south.

 

In regards to your tank, a large nightfish (they can get up to 15cm in length) will definitely eat your pygmy perch and also galaxias around the same length as the nightfish. I'd say a 1m tank is ideal only for a small group of nightfish in the long term. They'll eat anything smaller than themselves, including fish, shrimp and moulting crayfish, and anything bigger than themselves will be too big for the tank you have. A 6ft tank would be a perfect sized predator tank for nightfish and also large galaxias, a 4ft tank is also feasible but might be pushing it, in my opinion. Also, galaxias will get too big for a 1 meter tank, I'd say 4ft is ideal for small to medium sized galaxias up to 10cm long. They'll reach 15-20cm when fully grown. Galaxiella sp. are another kind of galaxiid that are much smaller than Galaxias sp. and will definitely go in a 1m tank with pygmy perch, no problem. Only problem is that they'd be wiped out by a single nightfish. Plus they're illegal to take from the wild, but that's another can of worms ;)

 

Good luck catching them :)




#367291 Substrate That’Ll Hold Its Shape?

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 29 April 2019 - 05:50 PM

I agree, it's a difficult task that very few people attempt.

 

Reckon I've got it tho  ;)

 

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It's a little harder than just clay, so idk if mudskipper will be able to dig into it (maybe I'll try to mush it up even more), but I'm glad it at least holds its shape. Clouds up the water real good tho.

 

Could I soften it at least temporarily if I pour hot or boiling water onto the bentonite

 

The foam floor is an idea that I've heard before, but I think I prefer the extremely-difficult-but-accomplishable-with-the-appropriate-materials route.

 
Also, do you reckon if mangroves will grow in bentonite?

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#367168 Puddle Pirating In Wa

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 23 February 2019 - 11:36 PM

I heard some interesting anecdotes from the blokes at the ANGFA meeting on Wednesday:

 

Okay first of all, apparently, nightfish can get up to 13 inches long? Sounds a little bonkers tbh, they're only recorded to get up to half that length, but Lyndon Smith recounted that he found a 13 inch long night fish (though it was quite slim and might've had worms).

 

Next anecdote: gudgeons in the Canning. This one is slightly less bizarre than the previous one, seeing as how there was a record of an Empire Gudgeon in the Preston River in 2008. But a gudgeon was allegedly caught in the Canning by one of the blokes, and even lived for a few years in captivity.

 

Galaxias truttaceus is restricted to the Angove and Goodga Rivers, as well as a few records from the Kent River. However, Peter Unmack allegedly reported that G. truttaceus was also present in other catchments (though these other catchments were not named).

 

A rural property in Baldivis allegedly yielded Galaxiella nigrostriata after a dried-up swamp on the property became inundated by rain. Seems to be the second least bizarre thing I've heard; the Serpentine River runs through the farmland in Baldivis, so it's possible that there's a wetland that drains into the Serpentine River and happens to contain G. nigrostriata.

 

And the least bizarre thing I've heard, aloe vera is good to use while collecting fish, as it prevents fungal infections?

 

Your thoughts on these anecdotes?




#366771 Puddle Pirating In Wa

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 02 November 2018 - 01:51 PM

Blackwater pools - Scott River - Blackwood River

 

The blackwater pools near East Augusta have large numbers of Galaxiella nigrostriata (might write more about them in a future thread), but also, literally thousands of tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs and small koonacs and gilgies (seeing them so much, instead of actual fish can get irritating :angry: ). Lepidogalaxias salamandroides are recorded to occur there, but I didn't see any. I might have more luck with them in summer, when the pools are smaller.

 

Speaking of the pools, I do not believe they dry out completely in summer, otherwise no aquatic plants would grow 

 

Also saw a turtle, which was cool. No introduced fish or invert species, the pools are completely disconnected from any tributary that might permit introduced species to enter the pools.

 

I was surprised by all the native plants, there were a few species of fully aquatic macrophytes (I know one of them was Triglochin procerum but I'm unsure of the others), even lilies. I doubt they're feral species.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Gingin Brook - Moore River

 

I mentioned this one in a separate thread, but I completely forgot to write about it here.

 

The upper Gingin Brook is dominated heavily by introduced plant species (not surprising though, seeing as how there is farmland on either side of the brook), but in contrast, there are no introduced fish and invert species, only natives, probably because of the presumably completely zero salinity. There is a single aquatic macrophyte, not sure on the species but it's similar to vallis.

 

The water flow is moderate.

 

There are Nannoperca vittata, Galaxias occidentalis (which are in lower numbers), Palaemonetes australisPseudogobius olorumAfurcagobius suppositus (which I've seen attain huge sizes; around ten centimetres long), Cherax quinquecarinatus (C. tenuimanus also occur there, though I haven't seen any; C. preisii appear to be absent), Galaxiella munda and Bostockia porosa.




#366751 How Do I Get A Hold Of These?

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 31 October 2018 - 03:36 PM

Oh yeah, Aquagreen. I remember he collected P. Weberi specimens a few years back, and the above document mentioned something about mudskippers from a Northern Territory aquaculture facility (could be Dave).

Ill get in touch with him and see what he can do.


#366536 Dsb

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 07 September 2018 - 11:09 AM

I want to set up a deep sand bed for my soon-to-be reef tank, is it just a matter of creating a deep bed of sand, or is there more to it? Also, what would happen if all or part of the surface of the DSB were to be exposed to air?

The reason for the second question relates to why I want the DSB in the first place, which is not for nitrate reduction (though this is a benefit nonetheless), but to create an elevated area in the tank in order to accommodate for mudskippers. I initially tried to do this by creating a slope of sand, with one end being a few centimeters deep, and the other being around 20 centimeters deep, but I soon realised that the combination of a shallow and deep sand bed would create problems, so I am now planning to set up the DSB in a separate chamber inside the display tank, using an old sump baffle.


#365784 Free Native Pygmy Perch

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 05 May 2018 - 04:47 PM

In addition to the gilgies, I've also got around 17 or 18 pygmy perch, all wild caught, between 35 and 55mm in length, though a couple are much smaller. I'm giving them away for free.

 

PM for details.




#365758 Gumdrop Coral Crouchers?

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 02 May 2018 - 12:14 PM

Stability is always key in any aquarium, both short term and long term stability. Its a good thing that youve put in all those extra measures to ensure stability. Simplicity doesnt necessarily imply instability, only more maintenance. Simplicity also implies less equipment, and by extension, cheaper setup, which is what attracts me the most :)


#365622 My Tandanus Bostocki

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 10 April 2018 - 07:47 PM

Not much to update about, the nightfish is feeding well (already got him on frozen bloodworms), though it's still a bit skittish (if the tank was large enough, I'd chuck in some dithers, like western minnows), while the catfish is way more skittish and is always either hiding behind the filter, the branches or in the front of the tank freaking out about not being in the aforementioned places. Not sure if it's feeding, haven't seen it once in the open foraging.




#365599 My Tandanus Bostocki

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 06 April 2018 - 06:41 PM

Just the regulars, pygmy perch, couple of nightfish, glass shrimp, a single western minnow, gilgies and some galaxiella Munda too. No introduced species too.

The gentleman who owned the nearby cow paddock was kind enough to let us use his gate to get in and out of the creek, since the creek is fenced up and the only other way to get in is to climb under barbed wire.
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#365558 My Tandanus Bostocki

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 04 April 2018 - 11:45 AM

Haha thats literally what I do, all of my livestock are wild caught. Always found natives more interesting than the colourful exotics. Id take a black stripe minnow over a fancy Betta any day


#365545 My Tandanus Bostocki

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 03 April 2018 - 02:26 PM

Caught one of these up in Gingin yesterday, the little guy seems to be getting along quite well with the nightfish we also caught yesterday, they both even share the same cave haha. They haven't started feeding yet, I'll get them on frozen bloodworms and live blackworms. Right now, the pair is in a 60L tank with some glass shrimp as tankmates/food, I'll eventually get them into a 200L and if the Tandanus gets too big, I'll either sell him or if I happen to find another 6 foot tank on somebody's driveway, move the fish to that tank.

 

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, the little guy is always either never keeping still or hiding behind something.

 

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#365515 Gumdrop Coral Crouchers?

Posted by pseudechisbutleri on 29 March 2018 - 06:33 AM

Well they are kinda obscure, haha

 

They look like a goby but they're actually a type of socrpionfish that get to about 2 inches. Ambush predator, good for a small tank, lays eggs on SPS, which can cause irritation to the SPS.

 

And they're pretty cute.

 

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