Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Total newbie here. Hypothetical question.......lets say the SHTF totally and we are no longer able to buy fingerlings from breeders. Will our fish breed in the tanks? If not, how can we breed fish to re populate our tanks?
Sorry if its been discussed elsewhere.......if so, please point me in the right direction.

Cheers
BonnieB

Question: if SHTF how are you going to keep an AP system going without electricity for the pump ? Or do you already have solar panels?
I'm not an expert but I think the general idea is that fish will rarely breed inthe fishtank (most fish need specific conditions to breed, plus a certain sexual maturity) except for maybe Tilapia (don't know a lot about them). From what I've gathered from the all-mighty internet is that many people have a sort of "breeding tank" for this specific purpose usually separate from the main FT.

maybe your safest bet is to:
1. Have native fish
2. (if you don't have solar panels) Let nature do it's thing and let the FT become a normal/natural pond.
3. Not-eat the fish for a long time (most fish reach reproduction age at two y.o.)

I will certainly be happy if anyone wants to correct me (I repeat I'm a newbie) but I liked the question seeing as I come from a 'prepper' background and have thought about S hitting the F.

(also, check out episode 1 of the tv show 'doomsday preppers' on youtube)

Cheers, tojo

General answer, Nup....

Carp of goldfish perhaps? Generally if a fish will breed redily, then it is a potential pest and banned or restricted. Tilapia was banned in W.A. last year.

Thank you both for answering. I was considering a solar setup. Haven't started yet....still studying and learning.
If we cannot breed fish ...how do the suppliers do it? There may come a time when it is simply impossible to get fingerlings....how do we manage then?
If we are unable to get supplies in a post SHTF situation must we just let the fish live old lives just to get our veges.

Is there another solution? The breeders must have started somewhere.

PS Cannot bare the thought of eating goldfish.....suppose I still think of them as pets......haven't been that hungry yet....but who knows !

Almost all Australian native fish are breed by hormone injection...

In a SHTF scenario hormone injection I think won't be an option (seeing as it isn't already in a normal scenario).
As earthbound said, you probably should try common carp, and wait.... And wait.... Some females reach sexual maturity between three and four years........ But they will grow big in the meantime...
I don't know about the densities for reproduction though...

Agreed completely... the hormone injection and spawn isn't the difficult part...

It's getting the eggs through to fry, eating a crumble that is.... and it's usually only acheived through nursery grow out ponds... and natural feed succession..

There is a nursery/tearooms in the Perth hills that has a very large pond with a huge amount of goldfish and they are big and I mean big. They have to be a couple of kilos each fish.
What are they like to eat? Do they breed easily and these huge fish......and are they different from the normal goldfish?
And Rupert you have struck upon another matter. Again in a SHTF situation what do we feed the fish assuming fish pellets etc. are not available.

Hi Bonnie B


golfish are actually a selected, colored strain of the more general "carassius" species (done thousands of years ago). The carassius auratus (from the latin aurum which means gold) is the common goldfish.

The carassius carassius and the carassius gibelio (the disputed "wild" forms of the common goldfish) are perfectly edible and not considered pets at all, they all belong to the wider family of cyprinia, which also houses carp.

Goldfish will get pretty big in enough water and in time... much like their wild brothers.
If you can get that strain (wild crucian or persian carp) you have uncolored goldfish that will breed pretty easily.

Thank you tojo. The fish I speak about are huge and swim in a huge pond. I guess they are breeding as there are hundreds of them. Thanks for the info.

You need to decide what species you're thinking of and then do a little basic reading ! 30 seconds on wikipedia will tell you what goldfish and koi eat in the wild.


Yes - goldfish breed like rabbits, however what you probably saw were koi (carp) which also breed like rabbits - your welcome to eat them, they're very popular in asia and the middle east and even eastern Europe.