Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yes... you will see Perch turn side on during feeding....

But generally flashing occurs deeper in the tank... and when not feeding....

So if what you think is "flashing" is occurring during feeding... then as Luke says... I'd probably say it's just a feed response...

I know that when my tilapia were smaller, they would eat the algae on the bottom, and it would look a lot like flashing. Then as I watched closer, they were just touching the bottom with their mouth. Silver perch eat algae too right?

they were definitely doing what looked very much like flashing but it was exactly during feeding time and I have never observed it since... fed again yesterday but actually didn't go to check on them later as I'd worked a night shift and needed sleep before my next one. They looked happy and were swimming around just fine. no flashing.

Water quality is pristine, fish look happy, plants are growing, everything looks good. I still have strawberries.

I'm finding my production is a bit low on the strawberries though... is it still too early in the season or should I try to change something in the way my growbed is set up? I'm currently running constant flow/flood

There's plenty of nutrient in the water but I don't think I have a lot of fish waste or worms etc in the gravel yet.

Is there something i can add to increase strawberry production? at they seem to just be sending out heaps and heaps of runners.

I know they say silver perch grow slow. But I recon mine have already grown 10-15mm since I got them.

stupid canberra weather... I'm wearing long pants and jumpers in december... wtf

Just a quick update, the fish are eating like crazy, feeding at the top now and not quite so scared anymore...

When I first got them they would just hide around the SLO but now they swim around up to about half way up the tank when I'm poking my head over the tank to watch.

Also there is already a huge difference between the biggest and smallest, more than 50% in length I'd guess. I haven't got them out to weigh nor do I intend to. If they keep going at this rate there will definitely be some to eat at the end of summer.

As for feed, they're ravenous. They happily hit the floating pellets now if I stand back from the tank a bit and eat about a handful of feed a day. I haven't measured properly, just feed them 10-15 pellets at a time until they stop eating. Usually that's about 3-4 lots before they've had enough.

I haven't done my water tests recently but my SLO isn't performing quite as well as I'd like and i can see fish poop floating in the water when I stir up the corner deposits so I'll have to check and maybe enlarge the slots in the SLO if they're getting clogged or something. I've already shortened the length of the bottom pipe to increase the suction through the remaining slots and hopefully reduce the potential for blockages.

I'm also expecting that as the fish get bigger they'll stir up the bottom more, but also produce more poop at the same time so I'm still refining the system.

Yea, when they get bigger the SLO will be more effective.

Yesterday evening i threw in a handful of feed and the fish didn't go for it... i didn't pay much attention and figured they must just not like me sticking my head too close and left them to it. went to feed them this morning and my wife looks into the tank and goes "what's all that in the bottom?"

It was pretty much all the feed i had thrown in sitting in the bottom of the tank uneaten. I used my pump return to stir it up and left the fish to themselves.... when i went to check and fee din the afternoon, it was all gone and they ate another bunch of feed i was giving them, this time pretty ravenous.

I'm guessing it was the sudden temp change we've had in canberra going from 36 to 22 in the space of a day. Would have freaked them a little and probably put them off food for a day.

Added about a capful of seasol just to keep the micronutrients up and also help my tomatoes recover from the drastic prune I did.

Therein lies the answer... but not the conclusion you've drawn....

The significant change in temperature.... was due to a change in weather.... and preceding barometric pressure drop...

Ah yes I do remember you mentioning the barometric pressure.

I wonder if there is enough data to collect to come up with a program coupled with a weather monitor to determine how much feed to give. It would be good to know when to load up or hold back based on temp and barometric pressure.

Too many variables.

Also I found that during the winter that has just passed I could feed my SP just almost as much as I do in summer just by modifying their diet.

At the end of day, I think people get too caught up with formulas. Imho formulas are better kept for RAS.

My strawberries aren't producing and it's giving me the shits. My zucchini on the other hand...

14 Jan


20 Jan

20 jan

Nice zuchs.... I can never get them to perform in AP. but my dirty garden ones are going insane right now.