Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have about 40 SP and have had them over winter and not heated at all. They aren't growing at a great rate but they are doing fine.... Is it just that they don't grow much in winter?

Seems to be the complaint "embi"...

But Jade Perch aren't going to grow much over winter either... unless the water is heated to above 18+... more like 20+

Fair enough.... Well I can agree to that fact.

Why does every thread turn into a shit slinging match these days.....

Right over it!

Had jades in an aquarium for the last 4 months and they have grown from 3-5cm to 10cm and fat, and at 18C constant. They would be bigger if I fed them more
I am guessing that IF I can get them through to april I will have 4-500g fish
Got silvers of the same size 3-5cm at this very time last year and put them in the aquarium at 25C for a couple of months and they went into the AP at about 100mm and are now around 200mm
The little fingerlings dont need long in an aquarium to get them to 100mm which is a good size to start them in AP I reckon.

Jamey... it's not a "shit slinging match"... or anything personal...

It's just quiet simply stating the facts... Silver Perch.. and Jade Perch wont feed or grow bugger all when water temps are below 18 degrees...

Silver Perch won't feed hardly at all below 15 degrees... and Jade Perch will probably die...

New season Jade Perch fingerlings available in December... will be 25mm at best... probably smaller... which gives 5 months.. at best.. with a damn good summer down in Vic.... to grow to plate size...

Even here in NSW... you can't be certain of getting your tank temp up and holding consistantly above 22 before Xmas... and you can't guarantee holding it above 22 after Easter/Anzac...

And above 22 is what you'll need to acheive to get Jade Perch to grow to 400-500gm in 5 months... at best...

You don't have to believe me... try it if you want.... I'm just saying that you'll have to be prepared to heat...

And if you've got 25+ Jade Perch at around 300gm+... you're going to need a 1000L tank... which means probably 2 x 300w heaters minimum... and the tanks insulated or in a shed/greenhouse...

Fish species seems to be a contentious issue sometimes.....

Yep,

I reckon its doable to farm JP here, and i'm getting some more

If you didn't like silvers because of their lack of performance in the cold, jades will only be worse... But each to their own....

Its not their lack of performance in the cold....

its the lack of performance in the growout period.....

Iv got jades and silvers both indoors at the moment, Silvers are last years stock and are around 100-125mm the Jades were 25mm fingerling in march and are now around 100mm

I expect that they will grow much faster than the silver perch over summer...

I tend to believe that aquaponics has no rules, Each system is differnet, Each person is differnt.... From looking at my Temps for the last 12 months + and knowing the average temps compared to last year from the past years i do believe i will get these jades to plate size and the next batch to a fair enough size to be wintered next winter with a hothouse enclosed system with some other measures in place to retain warmth....

if you can do it more power to you i say

good luck
pete

Yep we all do things a bit differently, and good luck to all I reckon.
Obvious fail points should be pointed out but shit fights about minor stuff is getting me down as well.
If some of us want to heat tanks to keep jades or whatever so be it.
Barring HSM's, Jamey and I will be eating jades come easter. If not then we tried eh

Keeping fingerlings in a heated aquarium over winter is a great way to go, plenty of people doing it with Barra and then growing them out over the summer.

Perhaps you could all build compost heaps to warm the water over winter as per this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9684

So... we're all agreed then.... if anyone that wants to run Jades is prepared to heat .. then go for it...

That takes care of Troutman's question of "how are you going to get them through winter".... and lets everyone else know what the constraints and actions needed are...

No real shit fight at all... just needed to be spelled out for any, and everyone... especially those that might be new, or newer...