Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All,
I have been thinking of Carp as a fish species for my future set-up...

I know they are nasty and a pest, but they are also very tough and adaptable...and with preparation can be tabled. Perhaps raising them in a tank rather than a muddy dam may even enhance their lacklustre table qualities?

In NSW they are a Class 3 Noxious fish which means they can be kept in aquariums/ponds/dams and even sold.

Any thoughts?

The Chinese have been eating them for centuries........ I say go for it, I mean wahts the worst that can happen, you end up with a pile of fish that may not taste like the best fish in the world... You can always use turn it into fish curry or something with lots of other flavours... Worst case scenario, do you have a dog Kimble? Or cat? You could keep them in pet food for life, my dog loves whole fresh fish, a 500g fish will disapear in under 5 minutes, and he eats the whole lot...

I was thinking of netting some out of the local river and using them to get everything going in the system then replacing them with fingerlings.

One of the professors at the college I go to likes to make pickled carp. I've never eaten any myself but several people have said that it tastes really good.

I'm surprised that you can keep European Carp under any conditions. In my former home state of South Australia, it is an offence to allow them to live.

If you are sure you can keep them, talk to Asian and Southern European people about how to cook them. I used to know some Italian people who used to make fish cakes out of them. Watch the bones, there are thousand of them.

I share EB's view of Carp - they make good dog food.

I saw a show on tv that talked about cooking carp. They chucked them in a bath tub for a few days so they purged the river mud they had in them and then cooked them.

With the cost of dog food supplying my lab with meals would be justification alone.

Pretty sure it is illegal to keep carp here in Qld and that similar rules to those mentioned by Gary re SA also apply here, in that it is illegal not to kill them if you catch them. I believe you are also not allowed to travel with them, even iff you have killed them.

Big Red - my suggestion would be to cycle with feeder fish if you can't get your hands on some fingerlings. Fingerlings will be available again late October, by which time your system will be up and running.

VB,

I always thought that Carp were just escaped goldfish living in the wild that got really big.

Sometimes the law is strange.

European Carp are different to gold fish. The law makers are just trying to protect our native fish populations BR. If you want to put European Carp in your aqua system to cycle it, go ahead I am sure you will not be nabbed by the fisheries guys. Fingerlings for our wonderful native species will be available soon and in my opinion you would be mad to use European Carp for anything more than cycling (and I personally wouldn't use them even for that).

VB,

Thanks for warning me. I think I can get some fingerlings so I will be going with them if I can.

Good one BR. Even if you just get a few fingerlings to cycle your system, you are getting a start on preparing your first fish for the BBQ . These first fish will have a head start on the rest and are likely to grow fast.

PS - what sort are you getting BR and where from?

I sent a PM to ausyfish asking if he still had some jade perch and he said yes. I guess it depends on the cost and if I want to take a long drive.

Put the message out to other forum members BR, I'm sure someone else will want to be in with you.

I know this is an older thread. But has there been any new thoughts on Carp. eg for over winter or as a way to clean up the bottoms of tanks.