The mountaineer of the fish world. It lives where the water hurts. The alpine galaxias is small and slender. It rarely grows longer than a finger. It has a pointed snout and tiny sharp teeth. The colour is muted olive-brown to silvery-grey. Faint darker blotches often mark the sides. It is not a flashy fish. It does not need to be. It lives where the water is cold enough to hurt bare hands. The only thing that matters is survival. A fish that has no time for beauty. These fish are the sprinters of the high country stream. They live in fast, shallow water. Bigger fish cannot follow them there. They dart between rocks and hide in the gaps between the gravel. They feed on small insects and crustaceans. They snatch them from the current with quick, precise bites. They are incredibly tough. They survive under the ice in winter. They endure water that barely reaches double digits in summer. A fish that does not complain about the cold. Alpine galaxias are the canary in the coal mine for the high country. They need clean, cold, fast water to survive. They vanish when farming gets too intense. They disappear when irrigation pumps suck the river dry. Their presence indicates a healthy high country stream. Their absence indicates problems. A fish that tells the truth about the water. To find an alpine galaxias is to find a piece of pure South Island high country. It is a small, tough, uncomplaining fish. It keeps swimming, generation after generation. It inhabits the coldest, fastest water in the country. The stream is cold. The galaxias darts between rocks. It is a silver flash in the clear water. The irrigation pump roars in the distance. The fish does not know the water is being taken. It does not know the stream is dying. It just swims. That is all it can do.