Did I just see Ross River Discus?

[kickouttheclams]

Can anybody who reguarly fishes the Ross River in Townsville tell me if it holds a wild population if Discus fish? I was walking the banks today around Gleesons Weir and could swear I saw a couple. Pretty big ones too for Discus . They ghosted into deeper water before I could say for definite but they sure looked the part. I have kept these fish in the past so am pretty familier with them, very beautiful, but I would be amazed if they could survive in Townsville's Ross River. Whilst they are fairly passive feeders and would probably be unable to outcompete natives for resources etc., you never can tell what direct or knock-on impacts non natives can have on a system.

If these were Discus I'm amazed. When will people learn that releasing exotics into our waterways can be of no benefit at all to our environment (*shakes head*).
Anyway rant over, anybody seen similar?
Cheers guys

[Poodroo]

It is certainly alarming to think that someone may have released an exotic species into our waterways. It is quite possible that what you saw may have been discus but it doesn't make sense. Discus in the aquarium shops fetch quite a lot of money so I can't imagine why anyone would want to release a $100-$200 fish in the first place. When you mentioned that what you saw were quite big for discus, in the wild they grow up to about the average dinner plate size which is bigger than what you would see in shops. In the Amazons they hook them out and eat them at those sizes. Have seen expendible fish like swordtails, guppies, carp, goldfish, tilapia, varieties of cichlids like oscars in our waterways but nothing as exotic as discus however probably because of their worth. Even if people get sick of keeping them they are sure to get a fair sort of return for them buy re-selling them.

Poodroo

[kickouttheclams]

Poodroo, I agree, it makes no sense than somebody would have intentionally released these valuable fish. However, all it takes is one fed up uneducated owner releasing a handful of fish from his tank, and if the conditions are nigh on perfect and the fish luck out at avoiding predation for a time, then a handful is all you need to lead to the eventual establishment of a viable reproducing population. From what I remember Discus thrive is soft water conditions, so I will have to check the pH of the freshwater Ross river when I get a spare minute. That wil tell once and for all if Discus are breeding there. Anything above 6.5 will mean they will not reproduce.

If anybody is catching these fish, I suggest running them down to your local aquatic store would be a profitable excersize, rather than killing them. But whatever you do don't return them.

[ffejsmada]

Could they have been Scats, .............or Batfish????

[Pridey]

I had a muck around in the upper reaches of Ross Creek the other day.
I didnt know what a 'Discus Fish' looked like so I google imaged it. And I pulled in a saltwater fish that wasnt quite as colourful but looked very similar in pattern and shape from my cast net.... maybe that fish does both salt and fresh..... hopefully ...... ???

[Teonanacatl]

Yeah they are apparently in there, as are oscars and red devil and a variety of others. I believe during some of the big floods collectors fishtanks went underwater. I found a thread about it at some aquarium site, Ill see if I can find it.

[Jim_Tait]

Ditto the above reply - there in there alright, and I also heard teh storey about a back yard breeders ponds going under - makes a mockery opf teh aquaculture legislation when home aquarists can have whatever they can get hold of in unsecured outdoor ponds - did anybody see the post a while back on this site advertising peacock bass for sale - they are suposed to be an ilegal import but there you go they be next!!

[rhycebullimore]

hey, im the secretary of the twin cities fish stocking society, yes there are many aquarium species in all three weirs. We quite often get them while electrofishing for tagging information with the DPI. I personally fish the weirs quite a bit and see many different species. alot of the fish, and no offence but i personally know people who done it, were army troops posted for shorter stays and when they were posted again they just released them in to weirs on lavarack barricks which then flows into aplins then in flood the fish can move up stream.
we just relase 500 barra around 300mm long 2 weeks ago so they should be of legal size in 12 months.

[Mak579]

hey, im the secretary of the twin cities fish stocking society, yes there are many aquarium species in all three weirs. We quite often get them while electrofishing for tagging information with the DPI. I personally fish the weirs quite a bit and see many different species. alot of the fish, and no offence but i personally know people who done it, were army troops posted for shorter stays and when they were posted again they just released them in to weirs on lavarack barricks which then flows into aplins then in flood the fish can move up stream.
we just relase 500 barra around 300mm long 2 weeks ago so they should be of legal size in 12 months.

rhycebullimore,

I'm interested in attending the next twin cities fish stocking meeting, can you tell me when and where? (PM me if required)

Thanks in advance,
Matt C

[goddy100]

Ditto the above post for me!

Goddy

[3bagsfull]

I work at JCU and was having a chat to some of the crew in Marine biology and Trop Vet and they have said that there are heaps of aquarium species in the river which they catch & tag all the time.

It's also quite interesting the amount of crocs Townsville has, especially in the river systems around Bohle etc.

I'll see if I can get some of their latest data on fish species and the new crocs they have been tagging recently around the area. (if ya interested)

[ronnien]

talking to a couple of marine park lads last year at the coast gaurd boat ramp about 8.30pm 1 nite they told me that they were going to see how many crocs they could find in the harbour ? he said about 60 !

ron.

[rhycebullimore]

hey, we just done a release and meeting our next meeting will be the AGM and probably a release after that as far as i know it will be the second monday of september (second monday, odd month) at the upper ross community center. ill let you know when it gets closer. thanks for the interest its hard to get people to volunteer their time.

regards rhyce

[Mak579]

Thanks Rhyce,

Please keep in contact when the time gets closer.

Matt C