Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I would have said go for the 15-25cm fish.... but at $10 each.... you might as well stock Silver Perch... and just go down to a restarant once a week... and have a meal of Barra...

I wouldn't have thought that restocking with decent sized barra for $100-00 is unaffordable. It is a bit different if you needed fifty, then the cost adds up.
I think the bigger sized fish may be a better investment, IMHO. Of course it depends on your budget.
Umm from October onwards - should read "when the water is consistently about 20 degrees". Every year I see people, and get phonecalls about their fish, they get them too small, they get them when its still too cold. If you get small fish and cold condiions the fish struggle to cope and can get sick and die. Understand what your fish will require to be healthy and happy, it is not about the calender, you should be looking at your thermometer for the answers. I do wish that I had a crystal ball on these occasions.
I have found that the barramundi I have grown to put on around 400g over the warmer months, although they have never been less than 10-15cm.

Yep... if your temp isn't above 20.. preferably 22.. then don't even consider Barra... unless you're prepared to heat until it is... and heat towards the end of summer... if the fish aren't big enough to eat...

Yeah agree with Faye here. One only had to be on the forum last year to see the number of posts from people who were losing Barra because they bought them too soon. The other thing to take into consideration is the water temp where you are buying the fish from. The fish will be somewhat stressed from the move and adding them to a tank with lower water temps is just asking for trouble.

I probably wouldn't either if I didn't have a baby coming in November and going down to one wage for 5 months... actually yes I would.

I'm more worried about some of the horror stories I've read on here about GP where people pay top dollar for Barra only to have them die within a few days or be sick

Easy answer, go for silver perch, cost less, don't have to worry about water temps and harvesting fish for 18 months and then do trout again. In the meantime you will still be harvesting veges.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tamarack 2

Problem I have with that Faye is I dont rate silvers in taste compared to barra

Got to say though, im a bit concerned about the price and health of GP's fish.

does anyone know of a different breed that we can have in Perth that will grow out in time for trout season next year?
was hoping for Jades but it doesn't sound promising last time i checked.

Nup... Thats our limits here in W.A..

You obviously haven't been out for a meal in Perth dude. You might get 1.5 meals that way

+1

Picked up 20 fingerlings and a 300w heater last weekend from GP hopefully I'll be able to get them up to size in a month.

I'm hoping it's going to be less than $120 to heat my barrel

If anyone else is thinking of going down the same path may want to ring ahead to make sure they have the aquarium stocked.

Hey guys. I heard back from the Tafe and they have barra up to 90mm that need to be gone within a week for $1.87 each.

My FT temp tonight is 21.8, do you reckon it'd be worth the risk for $28?

Check ft early in the morning, if its staying above 20 ten it should be ok provided we don't get any cool snaps

jackfrost do you have contact details for the tafe please?

19.8 at 7am