glennmreid Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Anyone know where I can buy native fish like Australian Bass for my aquarium? I live in Western Sydney. PM any details. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisb Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Anyone know where I can buy native fish like Australian Bass for my aquarium? I live in Western Sydney. PM any details. Thanks Hi, There is an aquarium at Blacktown in group of shops on corner of Bungarribe Rd and Lock St that when i went to last (probally nearly a year ago) had a selection of native fish (barra, saratoga, perch and i think bass) that you could try. hope that help, good luck Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tide'n'knots Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 hi glenn why not spend an afternoon on the river and catch one? otherwise you could try sth windsor fish hatchery cnr richmond rd and george st or turners pet mart on richmond rd just past m7 near red rooster, or perhaps parklea markets. Not sure if these places actually stock natives but its a place to start. come to think of it I remember seeing small barra at windsor or turners, not sure which. If you want some small fish to feed them let me know, we have a tank full of molleys at the moment and they just keep breeding must be about 50! If I cant find someone who has a use for them, they will get a one way trip to bondi with a flush soon! pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 There are quite a few places you can buy em. There is a farm out at Kenthurst that have lots of silver perch. and as ChrisB has said, Blacktown. I have also seen Bass, and other natives for sale at the aquarium at Auburn, the one opposite the McDonalds. They're not quite as cheap as Blacktown and Kenthurst though. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennmreid Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 thanks for the info guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ritchie Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Mate, If you like a Barra, go to one of them ASian fish markets where they stock live barras..i bought one 3 years ago for $10..good size fish and its kind of a good deed cos u'll be saving a the fish from a horrible death! My fish lived well until one of my mates accidently pour his beer in to the fish tank!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewboy Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 The place at blacktown should have em but u should get a barra i had one until a couple of days ago when it died when the aerator turned off but it grew to 70cm and 4kg i used to go down to the river and catch mullet to feed to him its pretty mad watchin him round them up ive already ordered my next one. cheers brewboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taloyoak Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 How big is the tank you have?. What other fish will be with the natives?. I worked in an Aquarium shop when I was in school, and over the last 30 years have had a million tanks, and set ups both Marine and Freshwater. If you don't know much about all this stuff I would be happy to help you ( unless of course you know already). Assuming you don't, then you need to make sure of these things: Size of tank is important, especially with bigger fish. What kind of filtration unit?- trickle( biological), under gravel, side, etc. Lighting and plants. Lots of natives destroy plants. food to feed them. How often can you spend time on the tank- doing water changes etc. what other fish will be with them. Natives like the ones mentioned above are available in lots of shops around Sydney. The biggest problems encountered when keep large native fish is keeping the water quality at optimum. The Ph and hardness is a constant issue, and keeping the ammonia's down is also hard. A good trickle/biological filter system is a must. Big fish crap a lot- therefore lots more waste, so the bacteria have to break it down. Plants help absorb some of this waste- but if they are getting destroyed it isn't helpful. Many of the Aust Natives prefer or live in brackish water ( estuary ) and so unless you have a complete tank to devote to the natives, you will need to choose other fish that like brackish too. Anyway, I am rambling on.... If you need some advice, then PM me. Cheers, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingpig Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I have kept native for a long time. Most of them are very aggressive and do not mix well. Barra will grow extremely quickly and eat just about anything alive. If one fish get a fraction larger that the other then the small one will be eaten. There was a guy in Campsie, Ninth Ave I think, that specialised in natives. One of the best fish I have kept is jungle perch. They are aggressive but not as bad as barra, sarra or grunter. If you want non aggressive try rainbows. They come in a variety of colours and with the correct lighting look great. Be careful of taking fish from rivers and putting into tanks with other fish. They carry parasites and came be very harmful. Cheers Kingpig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 You can natives at any specialist aquarium shop and if they dont have them you can order them in. Aussie natives do not need to be kept in brackish water. they are also extremely hardy and will tolerate a wide range of conditions and adapt well. This is good because your pH levels etc are less important. I have kept barra, bass, murray cod, archer fish, silver perch, golden perch, spangled perch and am just about to get a saratoga (these were all at different times!). They silver perch was by far the most aggressive and killed much larger fish by attacking there tails until they couldnt swin any more. Next most aggressive is murray cod. The bass was well behaved and none of mine really destroyed plants. they are very fun fish to watch and keep as hey have interesting habits. You can feed them little livies or put crickets on the surface and watch them boof! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roffo Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 There are quite a few places you can buy em. There is a farm out at Kenthurst that have lots of silver perch. and as ChrisB has said, Blacktown. I have also seen Bass, and other natives for sale at the aquarium at Auburn, the one opposite the McDonalds. They're not quite as cheap as Blacktown and Kenthurst though. Chris Where in Kenthurst?? Cheers Roffo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Where in Kenthurst?? Cheers Roffo I don't think the mods like us posting specific shop details on the forums. I'll PM it to you. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 ..........If you want some small fish to feed them let me know, we have a tank full of molleys at the moment and they just keep breeding must be about 50! If I cant find someone who has a use for them, they will get a one way trip to bondi with a flush soon! pete. Pete as far as a one way trip to Bondi goes are you sure these mollies can handle the salt? Cheers jewgaffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 St George Aquariums - I worked there for about a year. What those guys don't know about fish aint worth knowing. Just check that you don't need a permit or licence to keep natives. I used to keep finches (birds) and needed to buy a permit each time I made a purchase. By the way, is Rockdale Ten Pin Bowling still open in the plaza opposite the Aquarium? If you do go ahead with your project you may need to source some smaller fry to feed them with. As they are not captive bred it might be quite difficult feeding them with a flake or pellet feed. They will probably die unless fed a "live bait" My 2 cents Cheers Mariner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 you do not need a permit to keep native fish They do much prefer livies etc but will take flakes, pellets and frozen blood worms etc just as vigorously, for some it may take longer to get used to it but eventually they will eat it no worries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWANNABROCK Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 how do you work our how big your tank is in litres? Mike Lenght x width x height=volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 how big does a fish tank need to be to hold a barra or bream? or any native fish? Mike i wouldnt go smaller than 2.5ft for a barra, they grow quick but are fun, you can always just take it back and swap it once it gets big... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martymonsta Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Archer fish are good fun too as they spit out water at insects and the like. As one of the other raiders mentioned the silver perch are very aggressive. A mate once bought a $1.50 silver perch that hammered the crap out of his expensive Saratoga so much it died soon after. Bass are cool without being too aggressive. Tandanus catfish can actually be quite aggressive too so watch out for those. I've had golden perch which start off black in colour and aren't too aggressive. Rainbows are nice and colourful especially in a breeding pair and have also seen juvenile mangrove jacks for sale but $$$. Maybe investigate ordering fingerlings from interstate? I had a big sleepy cod too which was kinda like a flathead as well as a purple spotted gudgeon. Natives are interesting fish though and you can spend hours just watching their activity. Quite calming actually. Let us know what you get. Marty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtosea Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 My mate used to get his fish from Asian Restaurants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 i wouldnt go smaller than 2.5ft for a barra, they grow quick but are fun, you can always just take it back and swap it once it gets big... Or eat it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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