Draft only. The Freshwater Fishes. of Australia - 3. Gunther Schmida. Gunther Schmida

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1 The Freshwater Fishes Draft only The concept, text, lay-out and all images contained in this publication are by Gunther Schmida and protected by copyright. of Australia - 3 Gunther Schmida Gunther Schmida

2 The Freshwater Fishes of Australia - 3 The perch-like fishes Gunther Schmida Mary River Cod Maccullochella mariensis

3 Grunters Archerfish Other perch-like fish Mullets Glossary Further reading Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Glassfisch Giant Perch Cods Perches Pygmy Perches Murray Cod Maccullochella peeli Seven-spot Archerfish Toxotes chatareus - Mount Isa - N-Qld.

4 Acknowledgements: This work has been in progress for almost 40 years. It would not have been possible without the generous support from many other like-minded people. None could ever be thanked enough. Special thanks are due to: Terry & Michelle Adams Glynn Aland Sean Alanson Dr Gerald Allen Neil Armstrong Dr. Chris Barlow Glenn Briggs Steve & Aimee Brooks Dr. Danny Brown Gavin Brown Bill Boustead Andrew Bruce Keryn Cobden Eng Chua Rob Carroll Adrian & Fran Dawson John Davies Peter Ford Dr. Dean Gilligan Charlotte Grove Peter Graham Mike Hammer Dr. Bruce Hansen Dr. Brett Herbert Dr. Doug Hoese Brendan Johnson Lawrie Kirk Ken Kirkness Peter & Millie Kraus Bob Kroll Dr. Helen Larson Ray Leggett Glenn Leiper Andrew Lo Sheridan Lockerbie Brian McGregor Charles Niautou Gavin Rich Leo O Reilly Dr. John Paxton Robert Pulvirenti Dean Sampson Bruce Sambell Ken Shaw Brad Shorten Paul Smith Peter Unmack Adrian Tappin Rob Wager Graham Walker and Dave & Robyn Wilson. Spotted Scat Scatophagus argus atromaculatus 2.5 cm SL - SE-Qld. Thanks are also due to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, NSW, Queensland & Victorian Fishery Departments and ERIS in the Northern Territory. All distribution maps courtesy of David Wilson

5 Preface Freshwater fish have been a much neglected part of Australia s fauna for many years. Only the species appreciated by anglers, food connoisseurs or keepers of ornamental fish were better known. Even today most people consider freshwater fish to be drab and boring by comparison to marine species. They are neither, and it is hoped that this four volume series will bury this myth once and for all. Australian freshwater fish, especially the ones suitable for fish keeping, have been my passion for over 40 years. Almost as long ago as I decided to keep, breed and study Australian freshwater fish, I also commenced photographing them in the best possible way. As this is not possible in the wild for various reasons, all images on these pages were taken in as natural settings as possible, in aquaria meeting the requirements of the many species. Freshwater fish literature was scarce back then and most wildlife books ignored these aquatic creatures altogether, or did not show them in a natural way. Coal Grunter Hephaestus carbo - 8 cm SL - Olive River - Cape York - N-Qld. Things have changed for the better since, but this series is the first where the author can claim to actually have had at least some first hand experience with all living subjects shown on the pages. Even so, it would not have been possible to provide the current knowledge contained herein without the detailed work of many scientists, and dedicated amateurs in this field, who were prepared to share their knowledge. This volume deals with most of the perch-like fishes, some of which have become only better known Australian freshwater fish globally in recent years. The also perch-like Gobies and gudgeons are covered in the 4 th volume. It is designed to be up-dated and up-graded whenever new information or better images become available.

6 Order: Perciformes Introduction Perch-like fishes form the largest order of all fishes living on our planet today, the Perciformes. They come in all shapes and sizes and occur in all habitats. In Africa s Lake Victoria, one genus of cichlids, a brood caring perch family now very popular with fish keepers, contains more species than all Australian freshwater fish put together. There are many perch-like freshwater fish living in Australian waterways. These are the families of glass perches - Ambassidae; giant perches - Latidae; cods, perches & pigmy perches - Percichthidae; grunters - Terapontidae; flagtails - Kuhliidae; cardinalfishes - Apogonidae; archerfishes Toxotidae; scats Scatophagidae and some others which are dealt with in other chapters. Perch-like Fishes The most numerous members of this order, the Gobies - Gobiidae and gudgeons Eleotridae form the 4 th part of this series. Giant Glassperch Parambassis gulliveri 9 cm SL - Victoria River - NT

7 Australia s best known perches are also the largest fish in freshwater habitats. The largest Murray Cod, Maccullochella peelii, ever recorded was 180cm long and weighted 113kg. It is the largest true freshwater fish of the continent. The anglers favourite, the Barramundi, Lates calcarifer, is also supposed to reach 180cm in length but is of lighter build. (of other fish species only the lungfish reaches similar dimensions) Barramundi only spent part of their life in freshwater however, and must return to saltwater to breed. Sadly, both species are now considered large at one metre. Most other Australian perch-like fishes only grow to between 10 & 60cm in total length. The Australian dwarfs of the order are the pennyfish, Denariusa australis, a glass perch, and the oxleyan pigmy perch, Nannoperca oxleyana, related to the Murray cod, both only reaching 4cm at most.

8 Pilbara Grunter Leiopotherapon aheneus - 8 cm SL - Ashburton River - WA

9 Glassfish Family: Ambassidae Macleay s Glassfish Ambassis macleayi 6 cm SL - Darwin - NT

10 Agassiz s Glassfish Genus: Ambassis Species: agassizii Steindachner 1867 Type locality: Fitzroy River - Qld. Max. size: 6 cm SL Fitzroy River Brisbane River Condomine River Qld Murray-Darling Basin NSW Habitat: Temperatures & water conditions: Agassiz s Glassperch Ambassis agassizii cm SL - Condamine River - Murray-Darling Basin - SE-Qld. Introduction:

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17 This is a work in progress. Changes may be made to the overall design before release. A condensed version A Wild Australia Guide - Freshwater Fishes is available in all good book stores, or by contacting the above address.