AUSTRALIAN BASS - Macquaria novemaculeata
Below: A pair of Australian bass ready to spawn
This species prefers cooler water but will tolerate tropical temperatures.
Its flesh is white and flaky.
It has a deliciously delicate flavour.
They will live in full sea water or completely fresh water.
This makes many disease out breaks very easy to manage because most diseases can't survive in high salt.
Their natural range is from Bundaberg in Southern Queensland all the way down to Wilsons Promontory, the southernmost tip of Victoria, and the southernmost part of Australia.
They are found in the uppermost reaches of freshwater rivers and streams during summer, and move down to estuaries during winter to spawn.
The oldest bass recorded was 47 years old.
Australian bass vary in colour from metallic gold to greenish bronze.
Their colour will change according to the surroundings.
Australian bass spawn in winter, especially in late winter.
They move down to the estuary and spawn in brackish water.
They are a popular sports fishing species and are stocked in many lakes for recreational fishing.
Hatcheries produce large numbers of fingerlings for the stocking of lakes.
They naturally occur from about Bundaberg in Queensland all the way around the east coast to about Wilson's Promontory in Victoria.
Attempts to grow them as an aquaculture species have been unsuccessful.
They grow too slowly to be commercially viable.
See bass being spawned 3 minutes 20 seconds
Click to see half a million tiny baby bass4 minutes 20 seconds
OTHER SPECIES
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending
