Yarra Pygmy Perch
The Yarra Pygmy Perch (Nannoperca obscura) is a small perch-like fish, about the size of your thumb, that inhabits the Waurn Ponds Creek.
A fish survey undertaken in 2002 found Yarra Pygmy Perch in the mid to lower reaches of Waurn Ponds Creek with abundant catches (11-30 fish) at five of the sites where it was found.

The 2002 fish survey is available here.

Status
The Yarra Pygmy Perch has been listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and is also listed as a threatened fish species under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Due to the wide distribution and abundance of Yarra Pygmy Perch in Waurn Ponds Creek, it is likely that the Waurn Ponds Creek population is significant to south-eastern Australia.

Habitat
The Yarra Pygmy Perch prefers slow flowing creeks or still lakes with large amounts of aquatic vegetation (particularly emergent vegetation like the reeds (Phragmites australis) that grow in Waurn Ponds Creek).

Threats
Some of the key threats to Yarra Pygmy Perch in the Waurn Ponds Creek include:
* removal of instream vegetation;
* lack of riparian (streamside) vegetation;
* input of sediment from stormwater drains; and
* predation and competition from introduced fish eg Brown Trout, Mosquito Fish.

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If you would like to know more about the Yarra Pygmy Perch you can visit these sites:
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
Murray-Darling Basin Authority Factsheet
Department of Sustainability and Environment - PDF
Corangamite Catchment Management Authority - PDF

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Pea Crab

The Pea Crab is a tiny dark brown freshwater crab, the size of a five cent piece, with a body the size of a pea and it lives in Waurn Ponds Creek. It has compound eyes on short stalks, but it can't see very clearly, although it can detect changes in brightness. The female keeps her pale pink eggs held close underneath her body with special legs called pleopods. This little crab along with water snails and the Yarra Pygmy Perch are regularly found which indicates the health of the creek. It is one of the things that makes Waurn Ponds Creek so special and why we need to look after it.