fishbites Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Here is the newest addition to my fish family... just got him today from a couple who's nephew owned him and nephew was transferred back to Vic... so Murray (Murray the Cod or MC for short ) has come to live with me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 G'day Murray! I'm sure you will have a lovely home with Fishbites.. hope he won't get eaten. :giggle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I told him you said g'day Sarah but Murray is ' protesting about the move..... won't even touch some feeder shrimp .... big sook..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Aww, come on Murray! Eat your grub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Naw poor MC! How big/old is he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 The people I got him from said he was a couple of years old.... and that their nephew had had him since he was a fingerling.... that's all I have to go on ... he's about 25cm from tip of nose to tip of tail.... nicely coloured too... he's now hiding under his driftwood and watching the feeder shrimp... not sure if he's deciding on which one (or all of them) are for dinner..... Instead of an under gravel filter he now has a small HOB which is providing him a little water flow which I think he will like a lot better.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 He'll get hungry and eat soon.. actually talking about food is making me a little peckish.. though I would like something different than feeder shrimp. Good luck with him, he'll come around..... or else. :devil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Just did a quick google search apparently (emphasism on the 'apparently') they grow around 50cm or a little larger in the wild! Do you know if he will grow that big considering he is living in a tank? Hmmm I have never really paid attention to fish like this, what is he like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cammackey Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Louu, The Murray Cod is an iconic Victorian species, these guys used to OWN the Murray river, next to the Murray cray, they were the two top predators. Sadly they were someone over fished in the early part of last century and are now a threatened species. They actually grow a lot bigger than 50cm... some of the biggest recorded have been 1-1.5m! One of the greatest native Australian fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Cam is correct on all counts.... thankfully, there are some who are now stocking dams with Murray Cod fingerlings (which is how MC came about - from fingerling to his tank).... While the Murray Cod aren't the longest fish in the world they are very solid and a fish of about 1 metre in length can be upwards of 100kg in weight.... they are slow growers and thankfully MC will probably not grow that large in captivity.... (some raise temperature and over feed to force growth which is something I'm not going to do).... they can live for quite a long time - some reports I've read suggest 50 -100 years old.... Seems he's starting to settle in... before I noticed he has cleared gravel under the driftwood so there is bare tank and this is where he's hiding now (or thinks he's hiding).... also I can't seem to see any of the feeder shrimp so I'm guessing his sulk is over and he's decided to have dinner tonight.... He's got the distinctive white edges to his tail and is nicely spotted... fairly light bodied so the spots are clearly seen.... very nice little fish.... have a 4ft tank waiting for him and eventually a 6 foot tank.... not sure how long it will take him to outgrow those.... hopefully not for a long time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Since the Cods are a threatened species, are you going to release him one day? Or will/has he lost his ability to survive in the wild like many captive animals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volvodriver Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 The biggest problem with releasing aquarium fish into the wild is that they have the potential to carry viruses that native wild fish don't have immune systems for l. Even if the fish is a native, it has been raised in an aquarium so can have the immune system to survive these viruses. This is the reason they are bringing in these new import laws so that the potential viruses don't end up in the wild and kill what remaining native wildlife we have. Another problem would of course be he might not be able to survive but many people would say this is secondary to the wellbeing of a river system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Oh my, I never thought of that! If anything I always thought he wouldn't have the immune system. As in tanks it is always clean, but in rivers they have to survive pollution and all that. Hmmmm... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 hoowee that's big! I was talking to my Dad about fishing (he recently bought a fishing boat) and he mentioned that the biggest fish he ever caught was the murrey cod in the 'big dam' on our farm! Apparently it's been there for years and years and is between 50-100cm so something must be happening right in there! Goodness knows how he got there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Doubt Murray will see the Murray.... if worse comes to worse.... he might get to live in a private dam... but he's got a lot of growing to do before he outgrows my biggest tank..... No aquarium raised fish should ever get released in natural waterways.... as volvodriver said - you don't know what diseases that lurk in your tanks could get released on native fish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 You could always find somebody with a pond in their backyard! That would be cool. I understand that we don't release captive fish. I thought it was because they could turn up like the Cane Toads (I have a story to tell about those.. ekk). Or the carps.. I know Murray is in good hands, so whatever happens will be OK and for the best for him/other animals/us. OK lets say the best for our future, but that sounds a bit funny. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted December 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 Murray would have a field day in my pond.... with so many rosy barbs and goldfish ..... Murray has displayed antisocial behaviours - he has eaten all the shrimp in his tank and the 5 goldfish friends I put in there has turned into 3 goldfish friends over the last 2 days.... Murray literally likes having his friends for dinner :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Naw. I don't know how long those other fish will last in a pond with Murray around.. at least he isn't fasting anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 How is Murray now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted February 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 MUrry is his typically cheeky self - sits in his tank wagging his tail and looks at me as if to say where's the food! Very slow grower so hasn't changed much - will have to get a good vid of him when he's in a good mood.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Glad he has settled in. I remember he didn't want to eat when you first got him (not all that long ago, actually), now he sounds like a little Murray Piggy. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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