Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So Im in central Virginia, USA and I've been looking about for somewhere to buy fingerlings for my new system, im in no rush at the moment but I've been looking around and finding very little locally to buy if anything in state. I was thinking i might go catch some from a local pond but I may avoid that and just buy small fingerling bluegill and go from there to be safer and avoid using wild fish. I've seen some companies saying they can ship live fish within the local 48 states but I'm curious if this is okay for the fish and is a reasonable means to get fish fingerlings. One other note my systems fish tank is only 225 gallons so I was going to start with around 20-30 fingerlings in the beginning so I dont need a massive amount of fish.
Edit: My other question is in regards to crayfish. Can I stock them in the same tank as bluegill or will they cause an issue for the system I'd be interested in raising them as they would work for my climate and nothing beats steamed crayfish. Do they use alot of the oxygen up in the water in comparison? I;ve read theyre good for keeping the bottom of the tanks clean and reproduce rapidly leaving you with plenty to harvest are there any large downsides to crayfish that I have missed?

You'll need to check with your states Department of Game and Inland Fisheries about catching them to stock your AP, it may or may not be legal in Virginia.

As a plan B - private fish hatcheries that might sell you fish, here is a list that the Virginia DGIF made - https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/Commercial-Fish-Hatcheries.pdf

The main problem with crayfish is they are cannibalistic so you probably won't get many out of the system assuming they don't hurt the bluegill or vice versa.

Its legal in VA but I'm not too keen on it at the moment as I'd rather start with fingerlings so ill look at the DGIF website
Crayfish as I've read can be tricky due to cannabalism and that theyre a muddy bottom type dweller which can be tricky with aquaponics so I'll keep looking but I might do a kiddy pool like tank for them in the future with some divider walls to prevent too much cannabalism and raise them a little more effectively.

I've gotten fingerlings from Zetts fish farm. There are two. One in WV, which doesn't ship but is close enough to drive to. The other is in PA and they ship fish in oxygenated bags. If shipping, best to get them soon before the weather gets too warm.

I've found a few places to buy in Va now my last question is just based on raising trout where it can be a bit warmer if theres a way to keep water temps down with insulation and bigger pumps in the future I'd like to raise trout but i feel like ill need to have very deep buried tanks to try and keep the water temps low enough in the summer time.

It's pretty difficult to do this because running the water through the grow beds brings in a lot of heat. Burying the tank helps, running water through the grow beds at night (when it's cooler) more than during the day can help. Shading the grow beds and keeping the water level in the grow beds lower (so it's not near the hot surface) might help. Gunagulla uses a chiller hooked to solar, it probably wouldn't be practical just hooked to the grid.