Freshwater

Whitebait and mudfish (Galaxiidae) The Galaxiidae family is the largest family of freshwater fishes in New Zealand; there are about 26 species present here which have been divided into two genera, the galaxiids (Galaxias spp.) and the mudfish (Neochanna spp.). Galaxiidae occur throughout the southern hemisphere - in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. The family contains some species that are widespread and familiar to most New Zealanders, e.g. the 5 whitebait species, but other species are less well known with very restricted distributions, e.g.

Bullies (Eleotridae)
Redfin Bully
Members of the bully family occupy marine and fresh waters in the tropical Pacific and southeast Asia. There is just one freshwater genera in New Zealand, Gobiomorphus, with seven species: Gobiomorphus alpinus (Tarndale bully) Gobiomorphus basalis (Crans bully) Gobiomorphus breviceps (upland bully) Gobiomorphus cotidianus (common bully) Gobiomorphus gobioides (giant bully) Gobiomorphus hubbsi (bluegill bully) Gobiomorphus huttoni (redfin bully) Bullies have rounded tails, two dorsal fins, a blunt head, and are quite stocky.

CARPS (Cyprinidae) The Cyprinidae family is one of the largest of the freshwater fish families with about 1450 known species. None are native to New Zealand, but several species have been introduced here. Generally carp have large scales, small barbels around their mouth, and no adipose fin. There are many exceptions to this, however, as might be expected in such a large family.

FRESHWATER EELS (Anguillidae) Freshwater eels occur in Europe, on the east coast of North America, and throughout the eastern Pacific and Indian Oceans. There are about 16 species in total. Most New Zealanders are familiar with this fish and know what eels look like. However, not everyone is aware that there are two distinct Anguillidae species native to this country, the longfin eel and the shortfin eel. A third eel species, the Australian longfin eel, has recently been discovered in the Waikato River, and may have colonised other river systems in New Zealand.

Some of the terms used in this atlas may be unfamiliar to amateur biologists, and so I provide this glossary.

To find out more about the New Zealand freshwater fishes, the Atlas of NZ Freshwater Fishes provides an overview of the freshwater fish found in New Zealand, fact sheets for each species and links to other resources.

Click on a family, species or common name to learn more about that fish and its distribution. Please note: our fish finder database is undergoing maintenance and updating, so some species information may not be available through these links at present.

Frequently asked questions about WAIORA

WAIORA is a decision-support system designed to provide guidance on whether a water abstraction or discharge could have adverse impacts on a number of environmental parameters.

LakeSPI (pronounced ‘Lake Spy’) provides a quick and cost-effective tool for monitoring lake condition.

These guides are designed for rapid identification of freshwater flora and fauna, usually to the generic level, for use in biomonitoring.