Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey Desertrat, was wondering who Craig was sharing the fish with

The 5kg's of fish were sent yesterday by express post, you should have them by Monday.

I am feeding mine up to 5 times a day, they are pigs lol.

Best of luck with them.

Stu

Hope so.... otherwise they're gunna smell real bad...

Thanks Stuart
as you may have read all the SP were fit and healthy I picked them up on the Wednesday 24th
I think you may have a typo with the 5Kgs of "fish" sent by express it probably should have read "fish food"
If not as Rup suggested it will be a mighty stinky parcel
Once again thanks for the prompt and efficient service the whole process went like clockwork

Well done DR - very keen to see how they get on - great looking setup !!

I thought all my transport problems were imaginary. If you could send 5kg of Silvers to Alice Springs, surely 100 Trout will survive a car ride in an esky from Mt Compass to the Riverland. Oh well. At least I know I can safely transport fish food.

der, my bad, definately fish food lol.

fish can safely be sent anywhere that stateliner, greyhound or a qantas plane goes.

Hi
Stuart
Just wondering what size/type of fish pellets you sent (for future ordering) and how long can I feed them before needing larger pellets
All the silvers are all looking very healthy
Craig came over yesterday trying to catch his fifty caught 18 and when it was dark I managed to catch another 24
they are certainly elusive little buggers
Some interesting observations
I spread the silvers throughout my system but mainly in the fish pond the ones in the pond when caught were bigger and a lighter colour than those caught in the bath tubs and spa tanks.

... some of my tanks feed better than others... certainly up to a limit, they feed better in higher density.... the fish change colour to their environment .
The feed is 1mm growbest floating pellets. I would move onto the 2mm once that 5 kg's is done... usually start feeding the 2mm as you are running out of the 1.

Thanks Stuart
The 5kgs of FF arrived yesterday
The SP have grown noticeably and it is only less than a week since receiving them. I'm impressed
No casualties yet which is encouraging
In your experience what is the best, worst and average growout time (plate size) for the SP in ideal conditions
Have finally captured the 50 silver perch for Craig so he's pretty pleased to have his system up and running other than with goldfish.
The SP can be very elusive and are quick learners, when trying to capture them they have learnt not to hit the surface food while humans are standing close by especially with a net

Depending on size & when you get them... minimum 18 months... summer, winter, and another summer...

The it also depends just how "big" or "small" your plate (size) is...

Given your climate and ability to probably feed through winter... it will be interesting to see...

Thanks Rup
My plate seems to be bigger than my partners if that helps!!!!! That probably because I seem to have more on my plate (though she will dispute that)
The fingerlings are 40-50mm and just received them
Winter can be pretty chilly overnight in the early 80's it got down to -7.5 degrees but usually we have about 10-12 days of minus temps
My existing concrete pond has got pretty cool over winter but this problem maybe alleviated since putting an EPDM and carpet liner, hopefully it will provide some insulation
This summer the pond has never got over 27 degrees on 40 + days and has usually sat around 24-25 degrees
I will keep you posted on the SP growth

24-25 degrees is perfect Silver Perch growing temps... they'll feed down to about 15 degrees... then go right off, grazing a bit of algae, bugs, and any micro-organisms... might feed once every 2-3 days at temps below 15...

Will be interesting to see how the SP perform in Alice with a longer warm period than experienced in more temperate climes hopefully they perform as well as my yabbies which have exploded from a start up population of 12 now number about 280 (guesstimate) but may be more as I discovered a few <6mm ones only a few days ago. the growth of the first young ones has been very pleasing they hatched about the 14th Oct 2009 and now are about +-75mm long I will weigh them shortly.
I think yabbies are an important part of my system as they quietly beaver away cleaning up the bottom of the FT, they produce nutrient for the growbeds, provide the odd feed for some lucky SP and will provide some nice quality food for the plate (hopefully one of those big plates Rup) and most importantly they reproduce easily.
One of my aims is to minimise external inputs when and where possible.

GDAY Desertrat a beautiful and natural looking oasis you have there, it must be a GREAT spot to enjoy a few bevvies on a hot afternoon.I too have put yabbies into my system and have had a population explosion they are numbering in the thousands now.That is until my brother comes to visit and we play GOD and thin them out on a bit.We find that straight on the coals with a bit of chilli and ginger sauce works a treat

Thanks HS
It is a nice place to sit on a hot day, water always cools and gives the feeling of coolness especially with the sound of flowing water
and of course there is the occasional ice cold "Jimmy" (James Boag Premium)
I'm dreaming about the day I can add yabbies to the menu (on the coals sounds good)
I think yabbies are such a valuable part of an AP system
You may have read my rant regarding yabbies it would be great if others could contribute ideas on increasing the survival rate, health ect of yabbies in enclosed AP system
Have you posted any info especially photos of your system
although suspect I will end up with yabbie envy