Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I bought 20 catfish, 20 sunfish, and 3 bass last weekend along with a bag of catfish food which the guys said would be good for them all. This was on Saturday. But when I toss in the floating food, nobody comes up and eats. I even tried some gold fish food, no reaction. My FT is basically a pond, with all matter of leaves and bugs and stuff in it. Very murky.

Are they ok? I saw a bass jump out of the water last night, land on a support board for my ghetto sunshade, and then flip back into the water. Very odd. But that is the only fish I've seen since Saturday.

My catfish and bluegill didn't eat for 3 or 4 days after I got them. Honestly I have yet to actually see my catfish eat but they are growing so they must be eating. My fingerlings were very small so I would crush up the feed for them to eat. Then clean the bottom of the tank the next day. The channel catfish are more active at night so I try to feed them a few hours after the sun has gone down.

Be patient they will eat eventually.

Can you see your fish? Do most people have clear water or dark water?

My water is clear with a slight green tint. When I add chelated iron or seaweed extract it turns dark for a few days.

Steve ,

if the fingerlings are as small as the photos suggest, and if they're taking refuge in the baskets,
then they won't venture far from safety.

Move those habitats to the edge of your pool to a convenient place,
feed them in the same spot every day,
don't chase them across the pool trying to feed them,
it is a waste of food and you have significantly insufficient filtration (bio or mechanical) to cope.
Feed in small amounts, it will encourage them to feed more until they grow larger,
then once they have learned the food source and that they can feed safely, they will be fine.

regards

Habitats moved to the edge of the pool and mostly under the shade cover. I'll start feeding in the same spot tonight.

Thanks for the tip!

No worries mate, if all goes well there is a good chance you will start to see them come up for food before to long.
By feeding them in smaller amounts they will be a little more competitive and start to follow the food source up.

Also, make sure, of you can, that you're feeding them close to you water outlet from your pool to your filter.
It allows for any or some of the uneaten food is sucked up, as opposed to being on the opposite side of the tank where it can build up to unhealthy levels.

As a follow-up. It took THREE weeks for my fish to make an appearance! Two mornings ago I was out tossing some floating food in and all of a sudden I start to see the food magically disappear. And not from the very obvious gold fish I have cruising around.

As I looked closer, I could see the sunfish and maybe a few catfish below the food checking out the food, before quickly grabbing a piece and returning to the depths. It was very exciting. They are so fast, like little sharks. You have to really focus to see them, otherwise you just see the water swirl where food was.

Sometimes they just need to adjust to where they are but I think in this case your water temps may still be cooler than they like. I don't remember the exact temp but it's probably below the 65 to 70 degree range catfish aren't likely to come up to the surface to feed. I feed a sinking chow in Winter when the water temp is in the 55 to 65/70 range.

Cheers