Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I think people should try to buy fish from licensed suppliers, there are a lot of people starting to supply fish with very little idea of what they are doing, just because they figure there's a buck in it.

Support people who do the right thing..

I completely agree EB.
I have just had my first delivery of SP from Troutman (Gavin) and I would not go anywhere else. The price was good, he is very helpfull, I knew what was happening, he has a huge amount of knowledge he is willing to provide and it was an all round great experience. Not only that but I think that we should support those suppliers that support us wherever possible

I only mentioned the store in Maddington as Gavin has sold out of fish.

So you're the bastard that got the last of the fish... He dropped into the shop the other day and said he's been up to see you and drop some fish off...

You haven't grown out your last lot yet ....

Oh be nice EB, mine were on order since March

Little buggers are madly chucking laps of the tank, scaring way the frogs (the best bit) and eating all tadpoles in sight. No wonder they wont touch the pellets!

They might not want pellets for a fair while now if they have got a taste for tadpoles.

You might be right. Looking at them, as you do, they seem to have very rounded bellies. Maybe Troutman's SP are ADHD on steroids

Nah... that'll be the tadpoles....

for the uninitiated, how do you know who is licensed or not?

Most licensed blokes will / can offer a receipt. Unlicensed wont.

and other people on this forum will recommend 'em !

Me thinks me should have pre-ordered some SP's from Gavin. . . . I only have 10 in my strawberry tank, and will be harvesting some of my trout tomorrow arvo.

He does not have any to pre-order, they are all allocated as of last Easter pretty much.

Yep, you really need to organise that around Feb, or even Jan, to be safe

The primary reason anyone sells anything, is because there’s a buck in it!...

So if they aren’t doing the “right thing”, then by insinuation they must doing the “wrong thing”!... what are the Greenfingers guys doing “wrong”?

They have been selling fish for at least 11 years that I’m aware of, maybe longer. Over that time I’ve bought fish from them on numerous occasions, ranging from Shubukins and Goldfish, to Silver Perch and Barramundi… and I have referred a number of my aquaponics customers to them for fish… and never had a complaint.

The owner of Greenfingers, and his fish guy at the Maddington store are very knowledgeable when it comes to fish, they have been in the game for a long time and are not fly-by-nighters. Their holding tanks and filtration systems are well thought and well maintained.

As far as licensing is concerned, as a reseller they don’t need to be licensed, neither do the hundreds of other garden centres, hydroponic stores, pond shops, pet shops, aquarium stores etc that sell fish in WA. A licence is only required when breeding fish for sale. I checked this fact out a couple of years back, and I just double checked with fisheries again today… feel free to do it yourselves!

I’ve been into a lot of stores recently that sell fish, I’ve also been to, and bought fish from, a couple of the “licenced” breeders/suppliers recently. I’ve gotta say I’ve raised an eyebrow on just about every occasion, including at the “licenced” sites… dead fish floating in tanks/ponds, diseased/unhealthy fish in tanks with healthy fish, and stocking densities in holding tanks that are off-the-chart.

I don’t stock fingerlings, but I have arranged them for my customers on a number of occasions, from both Greenfingers and other suppliers, including some of the licensed breeders, and as a hydroponic store owner myself, the guys at Greenfingers are my direct competition, and as such I normally wouldn’t recommend a competitor, but I’ve never had an issue with any of the fish I’ve purchased from them, neither have my customers.

I just don’t like to see a small business maligned, either directly or through insinuation, without legitimate reason. What’s wrong with buying fingerlings from a hydroponic store?... especially if they are doing it legitimately, have been doing it for a long time, and know what they’re doing… It’s better than walking into one of the larger pet/aquarium stores and asking to speak to their “fish person”… only to be directed a 17 year old.



I ordered fish from one of the “licensed” guys a while back, and getting a receipt out of him was like pulling teeth…

...and other forum members recommending a fingerling supplier doesn’t mean they are licensed, let alone qualified to look after or sell fish.

The best thing you can do is attend their premises, check out their holding tanks, fish quality/health etc, and ask them a few questions, see if they know what they’re talking about.

Cheers.