Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Before I start out and buy all the equipment, I need to know what kind of fish are available to me, I'm interested in the rainbow trout I suppose, or maybe a Jade Perch.. I have cool conditions.
I live in Christchurch of New Zealand, and we have no aquaponics shops. we have 2 hydro, but they don't sell fish. I looked online and could not find anything useful... But I am new to this.
I've never seen a fish in a pet shop that wasn't a tropical neon something or other...
Any ideas?
Many thanks Kitty, and Co.

Unfortunately... neither the Rainbow Trout... or Jade Perch... are allowed in NZ.... (and Jades wouldn't survive in Christchurch anyway)...

Sadly... NZ doesn't have any native fish species that grow to plate size....

The only allowable species in NZ... is Grass Carp... or Koi (not sure of the status of Koi)...

That hardly makes sense? I used to catch rainbow trout as a kid... Native or not... where could i go to find ANY fish?

I currently have brown trout and koura (fresh water crayfish) which are perfectly legal but you are not allowed to sell either of them which suits me fine, you could try eel as well. We aren't as lucky as the neighbours across the ditch, they can just purchase their fish as fingerlings.

The way I read the legislation

The only fish allowed without a license in New Zealand are:
any ornamental tropical fish or goldfish that has been bred and kept only in an artificial aquarium or artificial pond.

Any other fish requires a license which at the time of writing has a $2080 application fee, and $30 per year administration fee.

However, so long as you are not selling the fish, no one is likely to notice, and you may be able to get away with it, despite it being illegal.

Koi are a definate no in New Zealand, as they are listed as a Noxious Pest.

Grass Carp require a licence under the above legislation.

Does anyone know much about the Perch in New Zealand??

Maybe they could be an option.

I remember fishing for Perch (and of course Rainbow and Brown Trout) when I was kid... I can't remember what size the Perch can get to...

Any suggestions on any edible fish species that would be good for Aquaponics would be much appreciated... as I am not a fan of using goldfish.

Or.....................will I just have to fish up some trout and somehow get them to spawn???

Is that even possible to get them to spawn in an Aquaponic setup?????

You can artificially spawn them no problem, like the breeders do, breeders dont wait for natural breeding.

The only way to get perch or rainbow trout in New Zealand is to catch them yourself, as while they can be legally farmed if you have a license, part of the license states that you will only sell live fish to other licensed fish farms, so they can only sell dead fish to the public.

Also note that there are very large fines if you are caught transporting these fish live without a license.

I think I read somewhere that there is a $10,000 fine for transporting these fish live without a license, and an even larger fine if you are caught farming them for either personal or commercial use.

Ok, I have had a reply from the Ministry for Primary Industries.

In brief:
There are fish that are classed as Sports fish, Noxious Fish, and Restricted fish
Sports Fish require permission from your Local Fish and Game Council to keep them
Noxious Fish cannot be kept under any circumstances
Restricted Fish require permission from the Department of Conservation to keep them

Any fish that is not classed as one of these three can be kept without a license in an aquarium, so long as:
a) They are acquired legally (caught from a place you are legally allowed to catch them, or purchased from somewhere that is legally allowed to sell them).
b) Are not returned to the wild without permission from DOC.
c) Are not on sold (either dead or alive) without a license.

At the time of writing, these are the fish in each of the above classes.
Sports Fish

Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Chinook Salmon
Sockeye Salmon
Brook Trout
Atlantic Salmon
Lake Trout
Tench
Perch
Rudd (Auckland/Waikato only)

Noxious Fish

Koi Carp
Rudd (Outside of Auckland/Waikato)
Walking Catfish
Pike
Pirahna Species
Tilapia Species

Restricted Species

Silver Carp
Grass Carp

The list of Sports fish and Noxious fish are set under the "Freshwater Fisheries Regulations 1987", the Restricted Species are set under the "Conservation Act 1987".

Suggestions from the MPI on fish to use are Eels, freshwater crayfish (Koura), and Whitebait.

i live in christchurch and have an aquaponics setup using goldfish,they do the job fine