Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Doing a bit of reading on purging and was wondering:

I have two tanks linked together and if I move the fish I want to eat from tank 1 to tank 2 and then not feed tank 2 for 5-7 days, will this do the job? Water from tank 1 will still flow into tank 2 but very little food gets in. Or do I need to set up a separate tank as a stand alone to purge? My silvers wont be ready for a while, just wondering if I need a third stand alone tank (although there are a couple of fast growers in the system!)

Quachy

It has been hypothesised that what you plan will work, however empirical results from testing have yet to confirm for me either way.
Not many ppl bother purging fish, and those that do don't talk about it much.
Some ppl I know use a separate tank with just a bubbler, no system. After all fish will be ok for a couple of days.

They use 100% fresh water. Somebody was trying a heavy salt mix to see if he could 'marinade' the fish whilst still alive. I think It was TwinTragics, but we've not heard from him in some time.

we purge ours in a separate tank with air and a small filter. when we have spare salt, it's salted.
jade perch can survive for months with no food

Believe it or not, I read somewhere about someone who added lime juice (increasing amouints over a few days) to "marinate" fish in the purge water. I can't find the reference, however.

Before we ate our first few catfish, I tried purging them but my tank for that purpose was really not big enough for the purpose so I don't think it was very effective. Large Channel Catfish get stressed out so easy, simply moving them from one tank to another and if that purging tank is not tranquil to them, I suspect the stress on the fish would just undo any good the purging would do. That is at least my opinion of it for Channel Catfish. We have not bothered to purge any of our fish since then.

You can always soak the meat in salt water before you cook them. It does not reduce the fat in the fish, but it make it taste clean.

And becareful with the surgery...
Dirtying the flesh with gut and blood is good to avoid

Besides, the cuts can get infected and those doctor bills kill all the savings from raising fish....

Yep, I've never bothered with purging, but I have noticed that filleting gives better flavor than whole fish, with tilapia at least.