Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello friends,
i've talked with a local fishbreeder, which means that the catfish will only grow with temperatures above 20°C and not below this.
So his meaning was, don't use catfish at our localtion where trout and carps should be the better choice.
Or he means that sterlet should be fine too, but they are really to beautiful to eat and don't grow so fast, i mean...
I don't know if he say this, because he doesn't sell this species.

Do you have any experience with this fish?
I know that they survive temperatures from 4 to 30°C.
I like this kind of fish, and want to use them, but they have to grow to support the nutrience for my plants.
I think about 30 catfish in a 1000L fishtank.


Kind regards
Dom

I don't have experience with this fish other than catching it in lakes in Michigan when I was a kid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bullhead
I see no reason that this fish would not survive in cooler waters since we caught them in lakes where the water rarely gets much over 22 C and definitely spends much of the year under the ice in frozen lakes.

Thats right, as i wrote is that they will survive between 4 to 30°C.
But the breeder means the grow verly slow, the carb and trout will grower more quickly than the catfish.
So i think about using carp or trout instead of catfish...

many people think trout are great and if you have cool water most of the year, they would probably be the best choice.

My Channel Catfish which are different from the Ameiurus nebulosus, grow fairly quickly but I'm in a warm climate. (I will say that the channel catfish keep growing a bit while water is below 20 but the growth is slower as the water cools in winter. At least they are far better than tilapia which really didn't eat much at all with water at 20 C and they die when the water gets too cold.)

What would your local water temps be? If they average 20 or below year round, then trout are the fish for you.

My catfish grow slowly as well, but I simply keep more of them than tilapia or carp/goldfish. Filtration etc could easily be based on feed rate rather than on fish mass. Slow fish like sterlet (a sturgeon!) or catfish could be stocked more heavily than fast fish like tilapia or trout as long as water quality stays high enough for the species.

I would go with carp for a year and check water temperatures, then decide on what you want to do next year based on your data and experiences.

This is known as the brown bullhead. There are three closely related species. Not sure which species (brown, black or yellow) I caught as a kid, but I caught plenty of bullheads, all about a pound or so. If you are going to eat them you will want to make sure they have been living in clear, cool water for a while. In muddy, warm water their flesh is not so good. Farmers around here will throw a couple in their stock tanks. They keep the tanks free of algae, though they will eat anything. The things are nearly impossible to kill. They will endure warm water and water that is near freezing. I found this quote on the Wisconsin DNR website: "Excellent aquatic pets, bullheads require a minimum of attention and are able to endure aquarium conditions that would doom more delicate fish." While they may not grow as fast as you want, they do have some advantages, namely they are tough and aren't picky eaters. I guess it depends on whether you are getting them at 5cm or 30cm. I could understand you not wanting to grow out a bunch of baby bullheads. But if they are already fairly big, then maybe they would be a good choice.

Thanks for your lots answers.
I can get them at a size from 8-10cm.

I appears with hydrophilia, that i've to check it out with carp, but i'll use a selfmade greenhouse, so the temp in summer is 50°C in the air, i don't know how warm the water will be.
I think the gravel will cool the water down.
But i think also it will to hot for the trouts.

My dream fish is the catfish, but they aren't locally here, so i can get them only from importers which want 2€ per piece.
And carps can i get for 0,6€ per piece in 10cm.
At my home aquarium i breed tilapia mariae, which i can put in the tank in the summer.
But i think you're right, that tilapia stops growing when water is cooler than 23°C.
I like to breed my own fish, but i think its impossible to breed catfish or carps at my little pond in the garden (12m³).


Greetings
Dom

Is there anything like blue gill, perch, or sunfish around there? I've heard of people having blue gill breed in a swimming pool system, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to do it is a somewhat smaller system if conditions were right. They might all be slower growing and a bit small but good eating from what I understand and remember.

I've posted a thread with lepomis gibbosus, but a lot of people say, don't use gibbosus they will grow slowly and stay small.
So i'm looking for a quick growing fish, which size is above 25cm.

We've red fins, catfish, carp, trout, zander and european catfish (3m).
You've got the easier way to get fingerlings for small costs, and a good endsize.
Jade Perch is my favourite, i find them fantastic, but impossible to buy at my location.
Barramundi is also a nice species.


Dom

Cost of fingerlings is less important if you can either breed fish (redfin?) or they get to large size (sterlet or European Catfish?). Bara would be nice, but can't take cold water.

Hmm do you mean that i should try redfin?
I read that redfin grow even slowly but get big enough to eat.
Whats your experience?

Dom

None here, but I read that they are used for aquaculture and taste good. And you say they are available to you...

I have had redfin in my system since Chrismas and they have doubled in size since then .I am pleased with their progress at this stage .Yes they are very nice to eat.

Hey dbird,
thanks for your information.
Can you tell me something more about your redfins.
Whats the size at christmas?
What do you feed and how much.
In which tanksize do you leave them, and how many fish do you have there?

I think i've to hold a lot of various fish this year :-)
The original species of the goldfish we call them karausche should also be a fish, which is possible to breed, to eat and like much food than the goldfish.
Edit: I've been looking and the amerikan name should be "crucian carp"
So i think i'll try my tilapia, catfish, carp, redfins and may be the grandfather of goldfish


Dom