Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Will trout be residing in the system PJ?

Goldfish call the Puddle home ATM, Charlie, but the Puddle Princess has chosen Silver Perch (Bidyanus bidyanus) as their edible replacements. I am thinking of transferring some of my ~20cm long SP to the Puddle because I want to clear my big concrete tank and make it ready for the next batch of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fingerlings that I have ordered. I understand that SP of various sizes can be safely housed together so we will probably also put a batch of fry in the Puddle with the larger fish.

Today we planted some Rocket (Eruca sativa), a couple of chillies and a fig tree.

The Puddle is coming along nicely, I feel, even if not quickly. It is now a great pleasure to sit puddle-side, whereas before when it was a sad little pool, it drew little attention and was quite uninviting.

On the subject of aesthetics, it seems the blue drums will be receiving a makeover in the near future. I quite like them in their blue form but apparently the die is cast. Admittedly the white labels are somewhat of an eyesore, and the one warning of danger to fish is especially out of place.

Once I install the media and plant up the three remaining blue drum GBs I will move on to the plumbing of the IBC GB. This will be the primary vegetable patch.

The hole that is visible in the paving block, next to the pump power cord, is where one of the pool fence uprights stood until fairly recently. Having no fence has really opened up the Puddle area, as small as it is.

good stuff!
we should all have a puddle!

I would be a little wary of the fig tree, all ficus have invasive root systems.

Edit. This is a pic of I think ficus hilli, after I cut the plant bench it was standing on away. The common fig will do the same thing.

That photo is remarkable, Sleepe.
Planting a fig tree in a drum is an experiment, and quite possibly a risky one. At least figs produce fruit at a young age so there is likely to be delicious bounty before the inevitable eviction.

The Puddle Princess is so enamoured with the 'guinea pig' goldfish that grace her Puddle that she is seriously contemplating continuing with them and not stocking with Silver Perch (Bidyanus bidyanus), as planned. I hope this thought passes harmlessly and the concept of using edible fish, rather than ornamental fish, to drive her vegetable and fruit production holds sway.

I can't deny that their flashing red and gold shapes brighten a body of water. Here are some of this season's crop of goldies feasting on 5mm fish pellets.

As soon as you get some veggies that will spill over the edge of the blue barrels planted along the sides, no one will even think about the barrels...

vertical garden on the walls around the pond, SP with the Goldies isn't that bad!!!! ornamental with edible!!!

I have been researching the results of keeping SPs with Goldies and there are some quite sad tales sprinkled amongst the happy ones. It seems that the Goldies inevitably come off second best if the Silvers haven't been raised with the Goldfish from a young age. I fear the 1yr+ old Silvers that I have in my big concrete tank, that I need to place somewhere to make way for my new batch of Rainbow Trout fingerlings, may well be past the "let's be mates" stage with the young Goldfish. I have been planning all along to transfer them to the Puddle but we know what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men . . .

Every goldfish and carp I have introduced to my FT has either been eaten (if small enough) or nibbled to death by my SP. Its unfortunate thats for sure.

Although, maybe a body of water that size will prove to be successful in keeping the separate species on good terms. We have seen this with your big tank.

I suppose the question is... will the puddle princess be ok with the possibility of loosing pretty, flashing colours?.. because those SP will disappear into the darkness.

What size would the SP be compared to the goldfish?

The Goldfish were only spawned last spring but are already about 8cm long. Most of the Silver Perch that I have are 15-20cm long. I have determined that the Silvers are just too big to not be interested in making a meal out of the Goldfish so I have come up with a plan C. Instead of moving my SPs from the big concrete tank to the Puddle I will move them to another large rectangular tank that I have, that I was saving for fry that haven't materialised. I will then have the big tank free for my Rainbow Trout fingerlings and will be able to introduce a batch of small SP fingerlings to the Puddle with the Goldfish. With a bit of luck the two species will develop and grow in blissful harmony , each respecting the other and what it has to offer, or in the case of the Silvers, what they bring to the table.

The large rectangular tank is neither filtered nor aerated other than by natural means because I have don't have power down there, hence my reluctance to move the SPs to that tank. Also, it is no more than 500mm deep, but its saving grace is that it has a surface area of 128sqm so I reckon that will be enough for 32 fish, at least until I can come up with another plan. The trouble will be in catching the buggers!