Fish for dams

Silver Perch

Silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus)[1] is a medium sized freshwater fish endemic to the Murray-Darling river system in south-eastern Australia. The scientific name comes from an aboriginal name for the species recorded by Major Mitchell on his 1832 expedition. It is not a perch, being a grunter in the family Terapontidae. It is the largest of the Australian grunters, capable of growing to 40cm and 8kg, more usually around 30cm and up to 1.5kg. The silver perch is the only major representative of the Terapontidae family in the southern Murray-Darling system, compared to northern tropical systems where terapontid species are common. Another small terapontid, the spangled perch (Leiopotherapon unicolor), does occur sporadically in the northern Murray-Darling Basin.

Golden Perch

 

The golden perch, Macquaria ambigua, is an Australian native freshwater fish, primarily of the Murray-Darling river system. It is not a true perch of the genus Perca.

The genus name Macquaria derives from the Macquarie River where the first species in the genus was collected. The specific name for golden perch—ambigua—may derive from Latin form of the word 'ambiguous', which has connations : of "two or more sides", and thus refer to the strong lateral compression (narrow, deep, flanks) adult golden perch display, but more likely refers to the confusion over where the original specimen ('holotype') was collected. (Richardson marked the specimen as having been collected from a marine environment.) These fish are also commonly known as "Callop" (particularly in South Australia), and can easily be distinguished from Silver Perch by a much larger mouth and pronounced hump on their head (in the latter stages of Juvenile life).

Australian Bass

 

Australian Bass
(Macquaria novemaculeata) may be stocked in dams in all coastal river basins from the Burnett River Basin south to the New South Wales border.

EEL-TAILED CATFISH

 

Eel-Tailed Catfish (Tandanus tandanus)
Distinct strains of eel-tailed catfish are recognised in Queensland so it is important to stock your dam with the one that is native to your area.

The eastern strain of eel-tailed catfish may be stocked in dams in the Maroochy, Mary, Nogo, Nogoa, Noosa, Kolan, Mackenzie, Shoalwater, Waterpark, Fraser Island, Isaac, Dawson, Fitzroy, Calliope, Comet, Boyne, Burnett, Burrum, Baffle, Barambah, Auburn, Caboolture, North Pine, South Pine, Brisbane, Bremer, Lockyer, Stanley, Logan, Albert and South Coast (including the Nerang and Coomera rivers and Currumbin and Tullebudgera creeks) river basins.