Hi All
Just a quick profile of me and my set up. An Aussie Expat with a rubber plantation and a need for fresh leafy salad varieties to supply our kitchen.
We live in Trat - Thailand, just opposite of the Island of Khao Chang so It's HOT and WET most of the year. Perfect growing conditions year round for all types vegetation, some refer to it as Jungle, it just that it grows where we mostly don't want it .
I have an IBC tank set up in semi shade under a roof to avoid sun burn and used for fish stock last year, a local variety grown widely throughout Thailand call "Ba Dook" which are a type of cat fish, quite hardy and fast growing. 12 to 15 in 700 lts was the ratio but I did have more (30 odd) earlier in the program when they were small and still found them effective until the locals raided my tank and scoffed the lot over several sessions.
So ended last seasons growing period and now I'm up and running again, 75 Ba Dook as fingerlings which will be thinned out and placed in my Dams for sport/food/BBQ at a later date (if I'm quick enough to beat the raiding party.)
In the mix this year we cleaned out the dams and the fish caught in the process are "Ba Soker" which are new to me and are a sucker feeding type, 7 of which I have tried out in the tank, they keep the water impeccably clean - no green algae on the walls and great LOOKING quality water.
SO my question is, are these Soker guys kicking goals or not - will I have sufficient Nitrate converted to supply my weeds needs? Was the algae a pertinent part of the conversion?
Last year I was draining and cleaning the tank monthly to keep water quality at level I thought reasonable for fish, quite a chore, this year I've got the house cleaners (are they Soker mum's??) in and very happy with water quality. I cannot comment on grow rate of plants yet as they are not yet installed, but I'm fishing for answers in anticipation of any obvious change in last known water quality/growing rates. Thoughts please.
At worst case I will see how it pans out and will post the results - who knows, I may have my own Soker club by the end of next season.
Regards from the rubber patch
