Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ive got 50 silver perch fingerling in each system , theyre all between 10cm - 15cm

water parameters :

1600L system
temp noon 18 deg
pH 7.6 - 7.8
ammonia 0
nitrite almost 0
salt 3 ppt

1500L system
temp noon 17 deg
pH 7.4
ammonia 0 - 0.25
nitrite 0.25
salt 3 ppt

and for some reason ,theyre not eating ANYTHING that I put in the tank .
For the first week they were pretty shy , the second week they started eating trout pellets that I'd crushed to make smaller . Theyve never touched the sinking 2.5mm silver perch starter pellets that Ive bought , nor the 1mm bream pellets , but after the second week they just huddled up together ( I assume theyre a schooling fish anyway ) and refuse to even look at the food

The algae in the old IBC system has been pretty much completely stripped , so Im assuming thats the perch ( do they eat algae ?? ) and the algae on the new black pond system is going mental , maybe tyheyre eating it but cant keep up

so , my main question now to all you people who've kept silvers ...

how long till they starve ?

Yeah I read that post

mines arent eating at all
ever

theres no storm front / barometric pressure difference
the waters testing fine
the uneaten food Im scooping out 2 - 3 days later as it accumulates
DO is great in both systems
Ive watched them take the food into their mouth ( all 3 types ) and then spit it back out again , as if they were tasting it and didnt like it

Ive had trout go off the food for 3 days or so before , but this is 3 WEEKS

so , again -
how long till do silver perch take to starve to death ?

AS in the other thread - Im waiting to see what they do when the water hits 20 degrees , but I wont be surprised if I lose em before that happens

If you have algae then they will eat that. It may just be the temp that is keeping them off the food. Try some goldfish flakes. Not sure how long it takes Silvers to starve. I can't get mine to stop eating. If it's not the algae then it is the insects that fall into the water. But new things take time. Dropped a BSFL in today and they didn't eat it.

STOP feeding them until they are banging on the side of the tank when you walk up to see them. Give them a few days. At that size they can go for a week without a feed.

If they're spitting out the feed... they obviously don't like it for some reason... taste or smell... could it be contaminated at all???

Will they still take the trout pellets??... are the trout pellets floating or sinking???

Any idea what they were being fed at the hatchery?

I agree with Jaymie... just don't feed them for a couple of days... then try the Perch pellets again... a small amount ... if they refuse them... try a small amount of the trout pellets...

If they take the trout pellet... then try slowly introducing them to the other pellet by mixing small amounts and gradually replacing the trout pellet altogether...

yeah , tried mixing

the silver pellets sink , the trout pellets some float and some sink , but theyre too big for their little mouthes so I have to crush them up a bit

funny thing is , the trout pellets they were eating were from a batch that I had mold in - I seperated all the good pellets out about a month ago and no mold has grown on the saved ones . The silver starter pellets are brand new and still smell fresh

I'll just stop feeding them till the water heats up , if they die then so be it , I'll just get more barra than I'd intended to

Too cold mate, give them a bit of time, they'll come back

I disagree with too cold, at 17 they should be feeding well. Ours are surface feeding at that temp 3 to 4 times a day. Swings in temp are another thing though, if it is only 10 degrees say at 8 am then you have a problem...
In my experience, small silvers can last at least a month without being fed if they are in good condition to start with. Then they start to suffer. Ones at your size would last longer IMHO. I would go with what J and Rupe said, make em real hungry. I would ditch the pellets from the mouldy batch though and start with fresh ones, or just make them eat the fresh ones you already have. bloody fish... the bane of our existance