Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thats about what I have been reading as well Gary Id guess the biggest problem with raising Yellow Perch is the cost of feed training them ie loss of little ones. Can't compete with the prolific Taliapia in that reguard.
And you have to start as soon as they are hatched for it to be effective.
With 25000, 30000 eggs in a strand thats still alot of fish!

Does anyone have experiance with placing wild caught perch of different ages into a recirc system? They are non native here and very frowned upon by the Department of Fish and Game, so I can go out and catch and keep as many as I want. Not sure that they'd want me keepign them alive, but it would be much less expensive than ordering them, and I could have some eating sized fish early on as well. Any thoughts?

Thanks
justin

Very few of us have experience with Yellow Perch, although I researched them, thinking that I would keep them. I believe your biggest problem will be getting wild-caught fish to eat. They will probably not take pellets. Can you supply them with live food?

Odd yellow perch are non native? I thought they were all over the U.S.
Right Janet thats the rub, they won't take pellets.

In this area, yellow perch are about $1.30 each in minimum of 25. But they are legal to stock ponds here. If they are illegal to have in Forks, then you may not be able to buy them. What fish are legal justin? Bluegill will add weight faster and take to pellets easier. Have you considered them? I plan to start raising both this spring. This year is my experimenting to see what works. Good luck Justin.

I'll have to check with the local Dept. Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife, but because of our salmon and steelhead, any non-native species is bad bad bad. However, there are a handful of small lakes around with bluegill, largemouth bass, and yellow perch in them. A friend has a four foot deep 10x10 pond with 5 largemouth bass in the 3 to 6 pound range, and he feeds them earth worms and now hotdogs sliced into worm shape. He's had them for three years or so. Its looking like I might be able to get two tanks 250 or 300 gallons, in which case I'll try two different fishes. And my supply will almost assuredly be from wildcaught fish, or I can get fingerling bluegills by the netful from a friend with a pay to fish farmpond. I will definately throw some yellow perch in the tank to see what happens. Also trying to hunt down the friend with the outdoor tilapia.

Thanks
Justin

Outdoor Tilapia? You are in a warm place with no freezing in the winter? Then Tilapia is a great fish. Grows fast, water quality and oxygen tolerant, vegetarian, and taste good. Lucky you.

Yeah thats the thing Doug, I am in a place with a a moderate climate and we DO freeze at night starting in October and on up until March. But a guy I know ( he's kindof the crazy *$$hole type, so he's not my friend) has Tilapia and some other friends have said they saw t hem in an outdoor pond with ice frozen over the top and they should have been dead but were not. I am skeptical to say the least, but I will try to track down his number today and find out what I can.

Thanks
Justin

Wow! Let me know if I can get some strain of Tilapi that is more cold tolerant. In my greenhouse tank they would never have ice but maybe 35F water (I could probably guarantee 45F). That would be the way to go for me. Some crazy people have advanced the world. Maybe he is one of those. I like nuts anyway, especially cashews.

Anything I have read says that tilapia go belly-up at around 50F. I have Rocky Mountain White Tilapia, and they are supposed to be more cold-resistant. They'll make it to about 47F. I'll personally vouch that they can survive under 60F in almost no water.

Me too Janet. The safe number was about 55F that I read and breeding can select for that parameter, that could account for the 50F you read. If there are any that make 45F, I'll be in the game.

Then if I have LD50 take its toll in the winter, I will be selectively breeding for cold tolerence. I would do that process.

ROcky Mountain Whites, well if what I hear is true and I can get some from him, maybe I'll call them Olympic Mountain Silvers or something Still trying to find his number hahah I wonder if he's off the grid or something!

What is interesting to me is that when you visit the Cherry Snapper site, he refers to tilapia as "river perch". I am not an ichtheologist, but to me the pictures of the mature tilapia resemble the yellow perch. (Similiar dorsal and pectoral fins, head and body shape.)

The one thing that has me wondering is I have read many of you having said that bluegills are easier to raise in an RAC system. I would have assumed them to have similiar traits, and therefore would have had the same problems.