Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

They have them at most of the big fishing shops Rupe. There are a couple of different ones I've seen, but normally between $30 and $50. One thing that put me of them was that one I looked at seemed to have edges (on each hole) that seemed a bit sharp - though this as probably just one brand. I'm keen to get one as the fish friendly net I got is just oo slow through the water (as warned by many )

I am very pleased for you BF, glad that you have mastered the transporting. Will Friday night be fish and chip night for you too?

the net is from a local fishing shop. $55. not exactly cheap but as i've recently learned, you get what you pay for.

you can see the size comparison of the aquarium heater to one of the biggest barra. i could already get a good meal out of it but wont be eating any soon. so no fish and chip friday just yet.

Nice to see that you all made it home safely BF...

from my experience with barra, the difference between eating them at say 25 cms and 28/30 is huge, the amount of bulk they put on per cm, is huge. If I was in the position you are in with nice size fish to start with, I would be planning a very large bbq in about early april with some 600 gram whoppers

cheers eb.

here is a pic of what looks like a cross between a beetle and a cockroach.

i found it wondering one of the growbeds at night.

sounds like a plan. i will be harvesting one or 2 every couple of weeks but should be left with 30-40 by the end.

i threw in a handful of feed this morning however they didn't seem interested. water temp is 21-22deg. anyone know what temp they feed at? i recall being told they wont feed at 20 but i'm not sure what temp they will feed at. it may be a matter that they are recovering from transport shock. just eager to turn them into monsters.

So how did you end up getting them home BF.....

Esky?... drums?.... with battery air pump??

used an ibc with the top cut off in the back of a trailer with 2 portable air pumps. spent a bit on equipment, however its all stuff i will use again.

At 16 degrees mine would not eat breakfast but at 22 degrees they ate 2 handfuls for lunch. The poor feeder fish seem to have jumped ship with 5 dead on the ground outside the 3000l fishtank with about 20cm clearance. It does not seem possible.

What was someone saying about throwing in some toys for the Perch to play with

leave them for a day or so to reduce those stress lines on their foreheads.

They look great

thanks a lot for the info Jaymie. you wouldn't believe the questions you have just answered.

yesterday i was closely observing the barra and noticed a few of them didn't have white stripes on there heads. interestingly the ones without looked more vibrant. so much so i thought i might have accidentally taken a couple of eb's silvers. i assumed all barra had the white stripe. yesterday i sent him a pm to apologize for accidentally taking some of his perch.

i just sent eb this pm having not read Jaymie's post.

"having a look at some pics of silver perch i'm not sure they are. the thing that made me think it, was the lack of the stripe on them. i had a look at barra pics and it seems not all have the stripe.

i wonder if its just an apearance trait or if it relates to something else. like i said the ones without a stripe seemed to be behaving differently.

either way i'm still not sure.

do silvers look substantially different to barra or are they similar? "

thanks so much for the info Jaymie. all is revealed.

no problems :curtsy:

When barra are younger, they look like black and white streaks (I suppose it's stressful being a baby barra ). As they get bigger, the forehead streak reduces, going from being there all the time to just there when they are stressed. No idea on the exact size or age range when it stops being permanent, sorry.

If you see a barra in a fish shop tank or restaurant tank, somewhere where there are new people all the time poking at the tank and oohing and aahing at the fish, larger barra will almost always have the line.