Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Actually it was our lost comrade, Tim's idea..

..and my little darlings did the exact same thing. It appears fish dont eat there crust either

Welcome to Robyns kitchen, Kebabs on the menu tonight. Looking good.

Thanks, Jeff and Faye. Vegie kebabs still seem to be a hit!

Well, I am just so excited - Christmas lunch just arrived. Oh sorry, got carried away! New perch arrived and except for one doa (looked like a very healthy one, but got caught in the plastic during shipment and ...) they look great. Should have been 25 but I only counted 22 (inc doa) so not sure what happened there. However, most were of a reasonable size (4-6cm).

Acclimatised them then set them free - they tried hiding, but then one brave soul joined the school (of comets, shubunkuns and 3 perch) swimming around, and then another brave soul and then another ... Then it got dark and I couldn't see them! Shame, as I was really enjoying watching the interactions.

Awesome Robyn!!!

..but i already told you that while we were convincing Lou to cross over to the AP side of the force.

I have a feeling it won't take much...

yeah, he said as long as it can grow barra and tomatoes he's in!!!

Well, all is fine - no floaters at all, and they have now formed one larger school, and look quite happy in each other's company. I have fed a little over the last couple of days and expected to see at least a little ammonia or nitrite, but nothing untoward has happened!

Measurement this morning

Temp 22C
PH 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates between 10 and 20

... so I fed them a little more!

Over a week ago, I noticed one of the comets looked "different" - it had black markings on it that hadn't been there the day before. As a precaution, fearing a contagious breakout of whatever caused this (bacteria, infection ???) I netted and isolated him.

The black didn't disappear, but became more pronounced and eventually I came to the conclusion he had changed colour!!! He looked fit and healthy, so today, 10 days after isolating I returned him to the crowd.

Now, if you think I am crazy, check the first page where I have a photo of the comets, and he is not black and orange there!

Anyway, he seems to have become part of the school without any problems, and is happily swimming around with them once again!

good work on the QT just in case

I guess they change colour but does anyone know any more about it?

Well, it is now one week since my perch arrived, and all is well! They are happy in their school and eagerly await each feeding. Latest readings are:

PH 7.9
Ammonia - trace (less than 0.25)
Nitrite - trace
Nitrates - 20 (YAY!!)

Was going to take the shade cloth down this evening as we are expecting cooler weather over the next week, but the weather mentioned low thirties next week, so I'll leave it up for another week or so. Just a bit worried that the plants are looking a little leggy - green but leggy!

With the nitrates reaching 20 and some tilapia arriving within the next couple of weeks (thanks TimC - looking forward to them joining the school!!) I think it's time for a few more seeds. I have planted a few more broccoli and some mini cauliflower. Also found some Dwarf Pea (Blue Bantam) so will try those - they have normal size pods but only grow 50cm, and I don't want peas growing too tall given that the bed is probably 80cm above ground level as a start!!

Loving all this aquaponic stuff - but OHH so much more to learn and so much more to do!!

Robyn maybe it is possible to let the peas spill over and down rather than up. Just be sure that they do not have the pink poison on them as the fish might not like it.

Thanks, Faye - I may let some spill over and see how they go?

Thanks for the warning about the pink poison - how obvious is it if they have poison on them?

I had a look and can't see any dust of any colour and the packs don't mention poison - do they have to tell you if there is a fungicide used?

Some are treated in this way and you can see the pink without a doubt.

RobynT well done & keep up the good work!

I'm enjoying this thread a lot, getting lots of good information. This is the kind of setup I'm keen on (soon? eventually?) so very keen to see how you go with it.