Exploring the beauty of australian natives

[graye]

In North America, you've got your darters and killies galore. Down under in Australia, the rainbowfish, gudgeons, and a plethora of other species are just waiting to be discovered.

In my neck of the woods, eastern Canada, we're still reeling from the aftermath of the last Ice Age. The glaciers pretty much wiped the slate clean, and when the fish recolonized after the thaw, they couldn't quite make it to my area. As a result, our freshwater fauna is a bit on the lean side compared to what you'd find 1000 km west of here. No darters for me, unfortunately.

It's funny how people often overlook the fish right in their own backyard. I've met Brazilians who'd rather have African fish, Americans and Australians who don't even know they've got native aquarium stunners just waiting to be discovered. It's always greener on the other side, or so they say.

If I were to make the move to Australia, I'd be all about getting my hands on some native fish – Melanotaenia, Chlamydogobius, Rhads, Blue eyes, and above all, healthy threadfin (Iriatherina) rainbow. Those tiny fish are truly something special, but the farms seem to be peddling skinny, sick specimens that have been treated to only produce males. If anyone out there stumbles upon some healthy specimens of what used to be a common fish in the hobby, grab 'em – they're worth it.

[coltin]

If you can get those pics up, I'd love to take a closer look - for ID and sexing purposes, that is. One thing to keep in mind if you do end up keeping them, is that rainbowfish from different river systems can have quite distinct colour varieties, so best to keep them separate. If you do confirm they're rainbows, you're in luck - they're pretty easy to breed, and in Queensland, they can thrive outdoors in ponds all year round.

[sidthy]

Your freshwater fish are a real treasure trove. I've been looking into some possibilities for the ones you caught, and I have to admit, I'm a bit envious. If I lived in Australia, I'm not sure I'd ever need to buy fish again.

I think you might want to check out Melanotaenia splendida and Rhadinocentrus ornatus - they're both pretty cool fish. I'm sitting here in the middle of a snowstorm, so the idea of catching fish like that in a creek is especially appealing. My knowledge of Australian geography isn't great, but Queensland seems like a huge and diverse place, and I'm sure there are plenty of other possibilities.

Australian and New Guinea rainbows are definitely some of the most interesting fish to keep. There's a great website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea - rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au - it's run by the Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae group, and it's a fantastic resource.

I recall hearing that in Brazil, the Goldfish was once the most sought-after pet, a pretty interesting fact considering the country's rich freshwater fauna.