Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Are these fish practical jokers or something ?

I populated my Balcony System with a handful of the medium - sized specimens from Golden Ponds last Saturday, and all is going OK so far ..... no sign of any problems with the fish, which were transported in a large esky from wherever Golden Ponds is up the Kwinana Freeway / Roe Highway and then up the hill to Kalamunda via a stop at the Bird and Fish place to get a net

They were pretty slothful, except when in the net, and quickly disappeared into the darkest area of the tank when transferred

Reguar checks indicated no problems, no signs of movement and more importantly, no "floaters", until Monday morning before I headed off to work. I thought I saw one of the smaller ones on it's side at the bottom of the tank. Then I decided that the stick I had been using to keep the heater away from the side of the tank had come adrift, and that was what I could see

Checking in the dark revealed nothing out of the ordinary but this morning, the first time I've checked in any decent light for a few days, I could see one on it's side at the bottom of the tank - definitely. I could also see that the stick had not moved from it's original position - still wedged between the heater tube and the side of the tank

Thinking it was a deceased Barra I thought that I would fish it out and dispose of it, but lo and behold, when the net was near, the little b*gger blithely flipped his tail and shot off to the other end of the tank. A closer examination revealed another one ( or the same one ) on it's side at the other end of the tank. Same test, same result

I think they are playing games with me

Being a total novice at this game, and never even had a goldfish, this is really puzzling to me

Has anyone else witnessed this sort of behaviour ?

Oh - system setup includes a heater ( temp fluctuates between 22 and 26 degrees ), one of the BYAP battery - backed aereators

The largest of the Barra is getting pretty inquisitive and they are starting to show themselves, but no sign of feeding

In keeping with conventional theory on this forum, I am only tossing a tablespoon of the BYAP pellets to them every second day or so. I have no idea if they are feeding, but the veggies in the grow bed are looking good

Don't play with the Barra unless you would like the whole lot to stress and infect your tank No they are frightened of you and your actions

doesn't really matter because you are chasing them around the tank, they won't eat because they are shit scared and frightened of you..... so leave them alone... don't look at the poor fish ...and please stop chasing them with a net

PS they are only playing dead to try and revive

When there on there side, they are eyeballing you, most times if you go near the tank they will be floating normal and then keel over to one side to get a better look at you. They wont eat whilst stressed, mine wouldnt touch a drop of food for 2 weeks after golden ponds, I think now they still are not really eating but they will whenthey are ready

As everyone else will say, give them space

i can't beleive you guys are having so much trouble with the barra over there. When I did my batch of barra a couple of years ago, they were on the tucker alsmost straight away at about 23 degrees. Maybe getting bigger fingerlings makes them more skittish. I assume these are pond reared fish??? Are they actually weaned onto pellets?

it comes down to keeping fish.......like asylum seekers...... they are freaked out...you guys are cruel to say the least........and you will loose your fish with the ways that you do

They're "testing" you ,, the next one that does it ,, knock it on the head ,, make sure the others see it happen ,, their attitude will improve rapidly:)
I am talking about the fish not so much the assylum seekers

I agree with Jessy. I had my barras since 13 Nov and after putting them into the tank, I have had a tarp over the tank all the time. So to them, I think it is like living in the dark... but I think they like that... The only time I opened the tarp was to install the heater about 2 weeks back and also to occassionally check for floaters or sinkers...

When I feed them, I crack open the tarp slightly and drop the food in... After I hear the first few glups at the surface, I had their attention and put the rest in... Again drop the food in on shealth mode... They have been feeding well since about 2-3 days after I got them...

Yesterday, due to the scare of potential fungus of fishes obtained from GP, I had to disturb them by putting a net in to fish 1 or 2 out for inspection.... They did not feed after that...

IMO, if you want to eat a decent sized barra at the end of the summer season, stop looking at them... cover their tank with a tarp so that it is dark and they feel safe... don't worry they can see the food in the dark...

Keep looking at them the same way you admire your trouts or your koi/goldfish, you will not be eating a good sized barra because they are too stressed to feed... no feed equals no growth...

classic..... to the lot of you harassing your fish or neighbouring countries neither way you will win

I've had the same fish for 10 years ,, they get fed when i decide to feed them ,, the filter gets cleaned when I feel like cleaning it and they never get water changes ,, just a top-up straight from the tap. I have recieved nil written complaints:)
We definately need more skilled immigrants ,, the process is in place , applications through correct channels are processed in an orderly sequence. Queue jumpers are normally shunned.

I definately agree that Barra much prefer a darker environemnt,..... so cover your tanks

Sounds like those Barra are a lot like our channel cats. They will flat out stress to death in an aquarium. And do well with little attention at all in a dark barrel or tank. I learned the hard way and was hard headed enough to try 2nd time. But 2nd time put half the fingerlings in the barrel and half in glass tank. Lost all in glass tank within a few months and only lost fish in barrel due to pump failure. Some fish just need their privacy!

I think it is the same like us humans... some people just love to be popular and enjoy being watched... but some just prefer to stay home behind close doors in front of the computer.... try putting the opposite of people into opposite environment that they prefer... they will either go mad and kill you or themselves... obviously there are people who are in-betweens... same with fishes...

it's not just privacy..........it is respect too...these are small little barra's ......and all these ( well some ) Perth people are worried that their investment wont grow.... or feed....they are Barramundi....a name given with respect ....each to their own but think about it

Yup, channel cats will stress to death. I had to cull a huge number of them last spring that were suffering from some sort of skin disease that would start with white patches and could proceed to full on lesions where you could see the muscles. Anyway, My smaller ones actually did ok in an aquarium but I kept a black cover over the front of the tank so they had privacy. I had some in a 50 gallon bin and they were not doing well, needed better filtration for that tank and probably more aeration.

This year, new catfish are going into a 250+ gallon tank, hopefully that will be a better quarantine system. I just hope the pump kicking on and off by timer won't freak them out since I've always kept catfish in continual pumping systems in the past.

Yea, sounds like barra are easily stressed so arranging the tank/cover so that you can feed and carefully peak without the fish seeing you do it, that is a good thing (then you can check for floaters without stressing them and you only need to open the cover if you see a floater that needs to be removed.) I notice that if I quickly fully lift the cover on my tanks, the change in light will cause the fish to bolt and often bang into the sides of the tank and such. If I just slip my hand in at the edge of the cover and drop the food, it doesn't tend to freak them out so much.

very simular fish ..... TClynx....... in that respect

Thanks for all of the replies

A check this evening after work revealed that they were all happily swimming around in the tank, enjoying each other's company, and seemingly unstressed by my attention ( and the torch )

No stress lines observed ( I looked carefully after reading more on the forum since posting ), and they are starting to take feed, which seems au contraire to experiences I am reading on this forum

Although the events as related were as they happened , perhaps "forumers" shouldn't take a tongue in cheek posting so seriously