Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hello,
I am looking for some advice from anyone that has experience with Aquaponics. I live in between Fresno and Tulare county and would like to branch out and start my own green house incorporated with Aquaponics. Looking for recommendations on fish that work best in this area. thank you!

Any of the Sunfish would do well there like Green Sunfish or Bluegill. It's warm and hot most of the time but it can cold during the winter in that desert.

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Hello,
I agree that the sunfish would be a good choice. One that I've been interested in learning more about is the Sacramento Perch. It is the only native sunfish to California. It does well in alkaline water, which could be potentially a benefit, if your water is super alkaline, but AP systems usually start getting acidic over time. Another point of interest is that they supposedly get up to 3.5 lbs. They are also supposed to be super tasty. I think you have a lot of options depending on your system's biological filtration (media beds, or other), amount of system water or system size, and amount of plants grown, mineralization, etc. There are a lot of factors at play. Some fish are more tolerant of mistakes, some struggle at the slightest imbalance. Starting simple, and with a tolerant fish is a good idea.

If you are wanting edible fish, you could potentially do sunfish (Green/ Bluegill, as Rcmaveric mentioned)
Carp, Bullhead catfish, Channel Catfish, or Bass. All of these fish can survive your winter, especially in a greenhouse without supplemental heating. They can all be found in the wild in the Valley, so they definitely can handle your local year round temps.

Some people swear that some of these fish aren't good to eat, but you have some control over some factors in AP that might otherwise render some of these fish to be less palatable when wild caught. ) For example, you could potentially purge your fish before harvesting. You also have some control over what they eat. I have tried carp, and it was okay for my taste, not the best fish I've eaten, but it was edible. I've heard that when prepared a certain way, it has won blind taste tests over other preferred fish.

If you want to do decorative fish, Koi or Goldfish could work (Also edible depending on your taste) They, and carp, are probably the most tolerant of bad water quality.
Some people have had success with Gambusia or mosquito fish. It is a very small fish, but they breed easily, and could potentially be grown as a food for your other more carnivorous fish like Bass or catfish (maybe sunfish).

Then, my guess for next most tolerant of occasional bad water quality are the Sunfish and probably the Bullhead.
Both Channel Catfish and Bass do better with better water quality.
A good source for fish near you is J&J Aquafarms in Sanger. The owner is a helpful guy, and he can point you in the right direction.

Hopefully you can benefit from my rambling....What kind of system are you thinking of?

I'm looking at trying to accomplish something similar in the area, central and southern California.

Are Tilapia a good choice? We may be able to do some water heating in winter, not sure about cooling.

I forgot about the grass carp. Those things were huge in the Kings River. I used to snag them by accident fishing. Pretty hardy fish also.

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Foureyedraven,

You will most likely need supplemental heating for Tilapia. We do have some wild tilapia locally, but they are found in bodies of water where there are factors that elevate the temperature year round, and they still show die offs in our really cold winters. They tend to do best when the temps stay pretty stable. But, if you don't mind paying to heat your water, I'd say go for it! They are very easy to find for sale as fingerlings in the area.

With tilapia, you're not going to need to worry about cooling your water in Long Beach. A cover over your tank, or shade, would be enough.

If you can go with a fish tank that is 300 gallons of more, and at least 300 gallons of media bed, catfish might be a good choice, with no heating required.
Otherwise, Bluegill or Sunfish would be good with a standard IBC or possibly smaller. All of these options are more of a challenge to find for sale as fingerlings locally.

I've had very good luck with channel catfish in so Cal. They are great over a broad temp range, but they need more space than an IBC. I recommend at least 400 gallons kcredit to TC Lynx). My water varies from upper 40s to 90s over the year.

I also raise tilapia but they are in an insulated IBC and they do require supplemental heating in the winter. My inland micro climate gets frost a dozen times I the winter and over 100 is typical for many summer days / weeks. I use a 1000 watt bucket heater and an Inkbird temp controller to heat the water if it drops below 62.

I also recommend J and J Aquafarms as a good source. I get my channel cats there.

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