> Bruce or anyone else that can answer this...I did manage to keep a pair of
> R. semoni alive of the originals that returned with me...can they be sexed
> physically or do you need to wait until the male changes color?? Also how
> big do they get?
Did you take a look in Leggett and Merrick that I seem to remember you
having a copy of? :-)
I _think_ there is a difference in fin size. I've noticed that some
populations have individuals with larger anal, dorsal and pelvic fins. I
never really took enough notice though to really figure it out. They're
in the Museum of Victoria if you want to take a look at them! (And
Rooster says there's nothing worth seeing in Victoria, except of course the
two lesbians my sister introduced him to! She said that was a real eye
openor for him!) I have only seen the colour differences that others
have described twice (they tend to go reddish). It could be
population specific, I've never seen it Murray-Darling or Lake Eyre pops
even though I caught many of them from all over their range. It's
probably sexually dimorphic I guess. The difference in fins is pretty
obvious in fish 50 mm TL.
Maximum size apparently vary by population, I think the books say around 100
mm, or 4 inches.
> The two that survived dont even look like the same fish
> anymore...They have filled out quite nicely.
They eat like pigs and adapt quite well to flake and other artificial foods.
> I would imagine that a group of these would be nice in a tank!
Most folks wouldn't know since it isn't a rainbow....... :-)
> BTW Bruce the semoni that did survive were the ones we caught in Delanies
> cr...They obviously are a lot hardier than the ones from Kangaroo cr. Do
> you still have some in your bath tub or did they die in the warmer water???
It seems to me that survival is temperature dependant. I remember
showing off my superior skills (being a Victorian) to some South
Australians who doubted that I could drive 30 of them from Melbourne to
Adelaide. I think two died over the 12 hour drive. I used to regularly
collect in the Yarra River (Melb). I could easily bring back fish alive
in Winter, but in Summer it was pretty chancy. However, in Cooper
Creek, in Central Austraila, they died like crazy no matter what time of
year it was, except once I accidentally had a couple in a bucket with
some other fish in the Barcoo River and they lived for a couple of
days. Actually, they were bony bream, oh well......
Hooroo
Peter Unmack