Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Gidday all,

First timer here..only been into aquaponics for a couple of weeks but have been gardening veges for years. What a great site. Slowly building my own system but need fish.
Any ideas for the Perth region? I can keep water warm with a solar system so i want to try Silver Perch or barramundi. Any one know where i can get these fish around Perth? Or any other suggestions.

Also I've been reading about other systems overseas. can we get Tilapia in Oz? It seems to be the best fish overseas. Grateful for any help

Welcome Vegeman. Golden Ponds in Baldivis have a variety of fish and varying sizes.
Challenger TAFE in Fremantle are breeding Barramundi and I believe they will be selling them in late June.
Tilapia are available around Perth, maybe from aquarium shops.
Faye

G'day Vegeman. Photos, photos and photos, we love them, and saves on the imagination!! Fish will depend on your setup a bit and whether you have it cycled. Trout for cold water and fast winter growth.

Thanks Faye and Rick for that.

Getting back to Tilapia. Can you use the fish from pet shops in an aquaponics system?Wouldn't they be too small? A friend of mine reckons they're illegal in WA but how come they're in pet shops?

Hi Vegeman
and welcome to our humble madness

you might find that they are not illegal to keep in aquaiums but are illegal to be released into river systems
because they would end up like carp in the eastern states and redfin in the ACT

if your looking to stock fish for growing out then i wouldnt go and start the way i did again with goldfish as i have found that other fish are much cheaper ( like the trout im about to buy ) per fish and much larger in size

take a note of your max and min yearly and seasonal tempretures and that will give an idea as to what fish you could run all year and like trout part of the year

good luck with you system

Max thanks for that.

yeah I can keep the water at a minum of 22 C even during winter and because of the insulation it doesn't go above 28 C in summer. Plenty of light but I hear it would be too warm for trout so maybe barra or silvers..if i can get any. Oh someone suggested Black brem any thoughts on this?

Do a search of the forum for Tilapia and look for posts by Johnnie7au (spelling may be wrong) or myself. You may be able to obtain Tilapia in WA.

A couple of points though:

• You will need to insulate the grow beds and tank to reduce heat loss,
• A greenhouse may be a good way of maximising heat uptake and minimising heat loss
• Electric or gas heating will be expensive for a large system,
• Solar thermal panels can be used to heat the tanks, but copper should not be used. If copper absorber panels are used, an inert metal heat exchanger (Stainless Steel?) can be used to ensure that the heated water (in the copper pipes) does not mix with the water to be heated (in the fish tank).

Tilapia die at low water temperatures (<15°C IIRC) and thrive at temperatures above 25°C
There was a lot of discussion of them on the forum about 12 - 18 months ago.

Regards,
Tony

Hi Vegeman,

As Faye said Challenger Tafe have barramundi fingerlings and they are available now if you want them. However with barra you have yo ensure that you can keep them above 22 C and to grow well they really need to be at 26+ C. If you want them then give me a ring at Tafe on 92398015.

We also have Black Bream. These are ok in fresh water but species such as Silver Perch would be better..if you can get them. Interestingly a number of people have put the Black Bream in their aquariums and unny but they don't appear dark coloured at all but they are an attractive silver colour.

I personally think that if you can keep your water at 22degrees than your barra will be fine. They may not grow like crazy but they are going to do pretty well. Would be my pick in your situation.

G-day vegeman, i`ve just picked up some silvers and some marron from a guy in Gidge, PM me if your interested

Hopefully you have more luck with the gidgi silvers than the rest of us did

hey Vegeman

i know nothing about bream except for they are pretty good eating
and then i guess it would depend on if you get black or silver

good luck with your system
sounds good so far