Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I will start my system in spring 2007. 3000 gal. with a multiculture of channel catfish, Yellow Perch, and Blue Gill. I hope they thrive on catfish pellets. My system is to feed family and friends, so two tank system with two year grow out time and one big harvest (& some small harvests) each year. If the Perch and Blue Gill do not like this system, they may be replaced by something else - perhaps grass carp. In Michigan, only triploid grass carp are allowed in open water. I want to check on permission to raise indoors. I hear they are tasty but boney. Before I would raise them, I would want to buy a few from an ethenic food market (oriental?) and clean and eat some. Anyone know of someone raising grass carp? They like macro greens (like plant leaves) and eat hardy and grow big.

Forgot to say...I will not heat my tank water and winters are cold. So the fish will not grow several months of the year.

Travis H. is doing grass carp now I think. He has a yahoo news group barrelponics.

I will look around for some info. Your fish arent eating much and probably are lying low thru winter. Spring will be best time to breed. Are the YP big enough to determine sex yet?

Doug I assume you are planning on round circular tanks or?

All I know is the girls grow faster and the boys change belly color when they get randy.
I may have to seriously consider moving it all inside, without heat its doomed. I'll keep it going as long as I can but its taking about $4 a night to keep it above freezing on the chilly nights. With only two lp tanks I'll be running back and forth from the station every few days.

John, I would caution you there. YP have a high tolerance for cold water and less tolerance for high temps. To be very honest, having tried perch in the past (bluegill not YP) I found them to be fickle eaters and intolerable of tank culture (which translates to poor/er water quality). Even fish farmers will tell you they do better in ponds. When I had my perch they were in a 300 gallon tank. They did not grow well and ultimately they contracted something that killed them one by one. I never figured it out. That and channel catfish were my only real failures. I found that tank culture (as opposed to pond culture) is better with tropical or sub-tropicals, hence tilapia or a hearty cichlid.

If I were going to try perch or catfish ever again it would be in a pond or concrete raceways where I could keep the water cool all the time and not worry about crowding.

How many YP are left?

Think about 35 if my death count is accurate, your right about the eating they are most picky sometime I think they are eating the pellets others not sure.

How does yellow perch taste? Can you compare it to another fish? I'm still debating what fish to choose and the merits of each. My first choice was going to be catfish, But that's definitely a no-go now that I have fried some up and tasted it. The local fish markets don't even know what yellow perch is -- probably because they deal almost exclusively with salt water fish. We're just about on the ocean here.

Janet, Yellow Perch is a northern region fish that extends into Canada and is adapted to cold climates, which means a fish that likes higher dissolved oxygen content. John is down to 35 which is still a good number for a 300 gallon tank so not all hope is lost.

If you can get Tilapia there is no better AP fish IMHO. Great taste, fast grower, low mortality, disease resistant, and best of all they breed lke rabbits

Yellow Perch taste great nice white meat, but grow slow unless you control the water temps then I have read you can harvest in 8-9 months. Of course I dont know what the harvest size is on that group. I emagine fairly small. 4-5 fish to a lb of eats? I choose them because they can handle the cold and had no plans to bring the system inside or heat the green house as well as being a local fish.
JP you had stated a price for YP at $10 a pound? Is that the local price for you?
I would not choose another fish for eating nor would I recomend others to raise YP. They are not a plug and go choice.
Taste comparison mmmm Orange Ruffy? or what is sold as orange ruffy(sp) They really have their own taste not a strong fish taste, great texture dang near perfect with a glass of wine.

Yellow perch isn't available locally. I can order 10 pounds for $100 over the internet, or 2 pounds for $25. Plus shipping, of course. I know I ate it as a kid when I fished in the Fingerlakes of NY, but my taste buds can't remember than long ago.

My setup is inside and heated, but only 100 gal. The supplier of YP near me advertises them as semi-domesticated and esay to feed train. Hmmm, I know I like to eat Tilapia. Maybe I should stop by my favorite aquarium store. I've known the owner for years and I bet he could order both honorum and mossambicus Tilapia....

Have never heard YP as being easy to feed train, infact I believe I read 25 percent or more of fry are lost in the attempt. I have lost 30 percent so far and believe at least 20 percent of that loss was because of not eating but who knows. I started with fingerlings not feed trained.
What is his definition of semi domesticated? LOL.

The supplier's fish descriptions are here.
http://www.delmarvaaquatics.com/fish2005.html
I think it means that he's been selectively breeding them for a bit, but he might also have just been swayed by someone in marketing. The more I think about it, the more I think Tilapia are delicious.

Very intresting.. 1/2 pound market size in 12-14 months thanks for the link it will lead to more searching as i was not aware of different strain names.