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Article: Pearl Cichlid Has Infiltrated The Swan And Canning Rivers


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#1 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 25 February 2013 - 10:46 AM

Hello All,

I would say if you are part of this forum, that you would never dump your fish in local lakes.
Here is an instersting article about Pearl Cichlids getting into WA's biodiversity.

You can read this article here on WA news Site. Or below.

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River Invasion of Feral Species
Daniel Mercer, The West Australian February 25, 2013, 5:20 am

An invasive species of feral fish has infiltrated the Swan and Canning rivers, prompting authorities to warn about the risks they pose to the ailing system's health and native wildlife. The Swan River Trust said it was investigating ways to control pearl cichlids after dozens of dead specimens were found during a mass fish kill in the Swan River last year.

The discovery confirmed the spread of the species into the main river system. Previously it was believed it was limited to a series of lakes and drains upstream of the waterway. It also came after the State Government in 2008 abandoned attempts to eradicate the species, which was first detected in the lakes at Altone Park, Beechboro, in 2006.

Amid the spread of other invasive fish species, including gambusia and koi carp, the trust said it was worried native fish and animals could be displaced or wiped out by the pests. Pearl cichlids, which come from South America, are a particularly destructive species that compete with native fish for food and damage the health of rivers by muddying the waters.

Although typically associated with tropical fresh water, surveys by the Department of Fisheries have found pearl cichlids can survive and are even "thriving" in the Swan's brackish environment. The trust's senior environmental officer, Jeff Cosgrove, said it appeared the fish found their way into the Swan River during periods of high water flow.

Dr Cosgrove said despite their spread, the pearl cichlids seemed to have a limited number of breeding locations in Beechboro and eradication efforts would focus on these areas. "Our focus for a potential eradication attempt is the primary breeding population in the Altone Park lakes," he said. "If we can knock out this population we substantially reduce the risk of this feral species becoming more widely established and having a negative impact on the local aquatic environment."
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I was wondering, How big do they grow?
Are they edible?

Regards,
Leif.

#2 bigjohnnofish

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Posted 26 February 2013 - 02:33 AM

not sure on max size... but they do taste good... rate them better then black bream.... recently had the chance to taste one caught from upstream in the swan...

plenty of people i know have been catching these for years as feeders for bigger fish... mainly altone area.... one guy bragged he regularly caught between 50-100 fish in the 5-10cm size with just a throw net on a weekly basis...

i have a feeling they are here to stay now...

it surprises me we dont have redfin perch in the system as well.... or do we ? anybody caught them in swan/canning rivers?

#3 Mattymak

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Posted 26 February 2013 - 09:05 AM

I don't think I could bring myself to eat a cichlid sad.gif haha

#4 Anka

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Posted 26 February 2013 - 09:28 AM

^ +1 sad.gif

#5 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 26 February 2013 - 11:11 AM

Such a shame, I love Black Bream, they are already being impacted on in the Swan and Canning without these guys stealing their food.

Yes this was the first I had heard of this. Didn't know people been catching them for a while.

I think Red Fin are full fresh water fish so they couldn't survive in the brackish water. But I am no expert.

#6 sajica

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Posted 02 March 2013 - 06:12 PM

I believe they're in the Upper Swan, if you know where to look......... I don't believe in everything I read on the interwebs, but would love to try when I get the chance.

Redfin Perch, that is.

Edited by saj, 03 March 2013 - 08:10 PM.


#7 al4n

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Posted 03 March 2013 - 09:49 AM

This problem has been around for awhile, they are tackling the same situation over east.

#8 T1gger

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Posted 25 March 2014 - 09:37 AM

If anyone carches these and wants to put them in an aquarium would this work?

#9 malawiman85

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Posted 25 March 2014 - 10:49 AM

Sure, why not? 


They probably look more like the fish off the simpsons after living in the Swan.


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#10 shane78

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Posted 25 March 2014 - 02:31 PM

If anyone carches these and wants to put them in an aquarium would this work?

I have caught fish from mindaries marina and put in my nano with success  currently have a starfish and some blennys in there for bout 3 months,

and from what I have read pearl cichlids can live indefinitely in water with equivalent water salinity as seawater I would think maybe they would be better

in brackish water.



#11 brenno71

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 09:25 PM

Any news on the best spots to find them and how badly they are damaging our waterways

#12 malawiman85

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Posted 01 March 2016 - 02:24 AM

In a belated response to Leif's assertion that redfin are a full freshwater species: The bulk of the redfin range in WA would be, to some degree, brackish.

We have a couple of geo fishing experts here that will chime in no doubt. Meanwhile here is a short artical dated roughly a year after the one linked in the original post. http://murdochindepe...-of-feral-fish/

#13 keleherr

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Posted 01 July 2016 - 10:12 PM



Any news on the best spots to find them and how badly they are damaging our waterways

everywhere, add kent street weir to this map

map_zpsevj0wx85.jpg+

 

Hard to say but the hoard is coming. Did some work on the bio of these guys, was mostly inverts from the substrate they ate


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