Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have lost about 4 SP over the last week.
Checked water param this morning and all good.
rites 0
ammonia 0
Ph 6
Water temp 8 deg.
Now I have just read in my quite old BYAP manual that SP prefer a water temp of 18 to 25 deg.
They survived water temps up to 30 deg last summer so I guess they should handle the 8 deg. now.
The only thing I can put it down to would be the 6 trout are stressing them out and maybe with the low water temps the combination is to much for them.
What do people think Apart from me being a d!@#head for putting the trout in with the SP in the first place.
Could the Ph of 6 also be a factor I have some Oyster shells on hand if needed.

All of the above except for the oyster shells use brickies lime sparingley
Stress and cold will knock the silvers off
Get the silvers out and heat to over 15 you may save them

If your pH is reading 6 on the API test kit... it may actually be below that...

Get some slaked lime... sometimes known as hydrated lime (brickies lime)... and add a small palm full....

Your Silvers should cope with 8 degrees.... if they're big enough.. but can stress if the temp drops quickly... and they wont eat or grow...

And yes, I've found the trout can bully them to the point of exhaustion.... usually I've found them swimming around on the surface with the pectoral fins raised, and even if removed they die within a day or two...

Get those trout out.....

We had exactly the same thing happen at the shop, big silvers dying one at a time, a day or two apart. Once we separated them, didn't lose another one.

Yup, they get stressed in the cold water, then the Trout finish them off.

Bugger. I was hoping I wouldnt have to remove trout but looks like I got no choice.
I hope this doesnt spell disaster for the rest of SP being stessed out by the trout removal.
I guess I will dump water on lawn, give it a bit of a boost.
Oh well so much for my cohabitation plan.

Mine are still together atm but will need to split soon, Im constantly stressing about it...

Wel that wasnt so bad, emptied most of FT and trout were easy to net.
OMG could not believe how much they had grown in such a short time.
Was going to give away but they should be big enough to eat. Biggest 2 were 300mm almost plate size.
Took pics but cant get em off card for some reason.
all gutted and in freezer except 1 to try tonight.

Well some fishes are never meant to be kept together in captivity.

Any idea of how low the temps can get. I've got a mix of sizes from 8-15cm? Seem to be ok...have lost a couple of little ones but the bigger ones look fine...?

FYI
Ive got a few silvers around 50mm in 10 deg or less overnight and they seem to be fine.

Well I pulled Trout out Monday 4pm, today Wednesday afternoon and SP are still dying.
One a day, water temp today was up to 12deg.

The reason my water temps are so low is that the system needs to be moved to the other side of my block to get full winter sun. System only getting about 2-3hrs full sun at moment.
I dont think I will be going for SP again, now that I have seen how slowly they grow and how fast the trout grow.
How do Barra growth rates compare to Trout

One of the problems with Barramundi is you need to get them at a larger size due to the short growing period. This means they cost you more - I am told about $8 each.

Having said that I believe they are quick growing.

Meh ! Faster than SPs but slower than trout, so, meh!

If the waters too cold for Silvers to grow... but good for trout... you haven't got a snow flakes chance in hell of growing Barramundi...

Unless you get them early enough... have a good summer... and are prepared to heat from mid April onward...

In WA you might have a chance....