Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What approaches do people have for counting their fish? I rarely get a glimmer of a shadow when the sun is at the right angle, and the moon is in Aquarius, then I can see the white nameplate on the pump and see fish shapes moving across it.

I'm thinking about either buying a submersible light (LED? CFL?) or building a sonar.

Perhaps there are indirect methods (count the electrical discharges produced by their muscles (like platypus), count the teeth and divide by 20)?

Other ideas?

I have absolutely no idea how many fish I have, and my water is crystal clear. I count them as I swap them from one tank to the other, but after that, no idea. Maybe take a photo at feed time and try and count from that

I moved from black plastic tank to a light blue coloured tank - this made it easier to see them moving about.

Counting can be done when initially stocking - then keep a running tally of deaths/additions.

A possibility is to have a "cattle run" and count them as they are herded through but anything along these lines would stress the fish

My thoughts are that all is needed is an approximation, if the fish are healthy and feeding then leave them as is as much as possible

What about clove oil, its not something you do all the time but its what the fish suppliers do and its probably a lot less stressfull to the fish than chasing them round with a net every day for a week.the fish would be drugged so would do them selves less damage (one silver to another"wow man check that net out awsome")

I call them for dinner. They line up in alphabetical order by name, and pop their mouths as I call them.
"Checkers." "Pop."
"Crystal." "Pop."
"Dominoes." "Pop."
"Red." "Pop."
"Spot." "Pop."
"Tuna." "Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop." "Oh, you are such a beggar!! Knock it off!!"



I have selected a very light-colored fish on purpose. (should be able to order tomorrow!). Rocky Mountain White Tilapia should be easy to spot in my charcoal gray stock tank. I will look for floaters, sinkers, and sulkers when I feed. Headcount deduced from original - knownBodyCount.