Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I treated my fish with melafix early on in the piece. Doesn't seem to have anything in it which would prevent from eating fish later down the track. My main problem was that I found it to not work particulalry well. A dose of salt fixed my ich and fungus like a treat. Though as some have found, salt can do damage to the plants. You have used salt before haven't you Jamie?

What was it that Joel used to treat his fish that said not to be used on fish for human consumption?

Thanks for the tips
If I get desperate I'll try the Melafix, TH (The Hopefuls).

Monya I tried very hard to catch some with my net but the little b@st&rds are really fast and now whenever they see me lurking with the net they piss off.

I will have to think about making some kind of big casting type net that I leave in position on the bottom and bring it up when I want to catch them

What I did over the weekend is put in about 10kgm of salt. I know thats only 1ppt in 10,000litres - but I'm pretty sure its not Itch so I figured it was some kind of fungal infection that a dose of salt might fix.
Thats the first time I've used salt VB. I have been reluctant, but I guess brackish water is pretty common in the wild, and I know that salt is good for abrasions and itches on me

Today I read about "fin rot" which is apparantly quite common (?) - caused by bacteria - and which also can be treated with salt.
Maybe its my imagination but I think it is improving on those that have the problem.

I'll give it a few more days.

Cheers
Jamie

1-2ppt is a nice level of salt for preventative care, and won't bother plants. I was running at that level until yesterday, now I'm probably under 1ppt.

IMHO, most illnesses in fish happen because of undue stress, poor water quality or injuries. Eliminate those and that eliminates a lot of problems down the road.

Like trying to catch the fish to photograph for AP mates .

i second that JP.

I believe Joelmmay have used mela fix.

It says on the bottle "nopt for use on fish inteanded for consumption" but iMHO i think may be as an ass cover'er. it wuld need to be certified otherwise ($$)

But make up your own minds about it. Or better still, someone email them

Okay, I remember past discussions on that topic now.

Yep, I used Melafix and it did the job of cleaning up the disease my fish had.. It did say not to be used on any fish you want to eat.. I think in future I will use salt though, too much mucking around with adding the melafix every day, and the fish hated it. For the first 20 minutes or so after adding melafix, they tried very hard to jump out of the tank..

Maybe that way he can get their picture!

Well the 1ppt salt seems to be doing the trick. I think I detect regression in those fish with the fin discoloration and its not spreading more widely.

Thanks for all the advice and comments guys - I would be lost without all the experience on this site

Cheers
Jamie

No worries!

Every time i think we are asking to much from the good old table salt it comes through again

week 8:
pH 6.83
Nitrates 15ppm
Fish size 8-12 cm

Harvested the last of the beans and two big cucumbers.
100's of cherry toms but not ripe yet.
First eggplant fruit has set.

The Jades love bean leaves. I throw the whole plants in there and soon after pull out a stem-skeleton.
Time to plant some more beans!

Maggot farming hasn't been too successful since my early successes.
Problem is the stuff dries out too quickly. Maybe I'll try a shallow bowl with plenty of milk in it + bread and eggs.

I can see the fish food is going to prove to be expensive. $5 a kilo is a good price (I think?), but when I'm feeding 100Kg of fish 2% body weight everyday..
I need to find a regular source of stale bread for my homemade mixture.

Jamie
In the USA a 50 pound bag costs about $28US, which is just over $1US/kg.
Could it be that much more in Australia?? This is 32% protein feed from Tractor Supply Company (TSC). You can cjheck the prices on the web.
Do you need a better feed? This is used for channel catfish here. Trout feed is more ($40US/50 lbs).

Jamie,
Hay You Pet supplies, Kessels Road, MacGregor sell 25kg Ridley pellets for around $50
*here is 2 addresses*

Grobest also sell 25/30kg bags
*Grobest*

I have been to neither place yet, buying in this size bulk woeks out to ~ $2/kg - if the bags are too big then there are some of us will split the product with you (might even share costs )

I am using Ridley's 4mm pellets ( part of a bag Roskar bought last year) and intend trying Grobest next (mainly for their LAP - Land Animal Protein Free tag)

You might want to read *this thread* , Gary has been doing some experimenting with BSF (see Jaymie's work for elaboration ) which leaves the "gents" for dead IMHO

Jamie, I get my food from a hatchery where I got my fingerlings, for $2 a kilo. Maybe try a hatchery local to you