Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi folks

I am new to this and just sort of learning ....

A list of "winter" and "summer" plants or a planting calendar might be a good idea.

or is there a planting calander for Perth on the web anywhere?

Also - corriander has worked well for me in the past when I mucked around with organic" hydroponic systems..

Anyone know where I can get hold of watercress?
Nasturtium officinale or alternatively known as
Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum

another general aquaponics question, I was looking for something to feed of the detritus that may accumulate in the bottom of my tanks, I thought yabbies but heard that yabbies might take my little fish when they sleep .. Is there anything less agressive than yabbies that would sit at the bottom of a freshwater tank that would make an interesting and useful companion for the fish?

Johnnie

Johnnie,

I wouldn't be too worried about the yabbies taking your little fish, esp. if you are using the wheelie bins, the yabbies only utilise the "ground floor"
fish don't "sleep" in the sense that we do. they slow down, but are always awake, just don't go overkill on the yabbies, maybe 2 or 3.

I had 10 little fish in the same tanks as 4 yabbies and i don't think i lost any. By the same token i also had 7 yabbies in a tank with 5 sligltly larger fish and lots of drift wood and the like for the yabbies to climb on and i lost three fish.

It just probability i guess, surface area of the fish available to be grabbed by the yabbie + area that the yabby can utilize VS area the fish can utilize!

Just give the yabbies enough so that they don't "go looking else where"!

Steve

Thanks mate ..

I will try one yabbie in the bottom when my litle fish are a little older ...! (Wiser?)

I would love to try a BLUE marron pair .. if I could get hold of them and make conditions good to breed .. thse little fellas are so lovely to look at!


A link to a planting calendar would be great ... What to plant in which month? I think that would be very useful.

Its past the tomato season in Peth now .. .. but the local garden centres are still selling tomato seedlings ... DOh ....

So .. for guys like me ... a planting calendar for my locality .. Perth would be an excllent idea.

(OH .. I am trying to have a go at a no media culture ... ... no gravel ..

just plants suspended in the fishy poop water!

- I had a load of tomato success with this idea a couple of years ago ... not fish residue .. but mixing all sorts of natural nitrogen rich stuff together ,, the yield was amazing ... no chemicals .. just mixtures of various poops and ashes from a wood fire ... best tomatoes I have ever tasted .... MMmmm! So sweet .. the tomatoes were .. like tomates were when I was a kid!

I think I can do this with fish ...

Anyone know where I can get hold of watercress?

Nasturtium officinale or alternatively known as
Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum

I am hungry!

As soon as the rains come .. my kids are going to get me a few yabbies ...

Now where do I get baby Blue marron from .. Oh . and also .. some watercress? (I never seen watercress In WA) .. but when I was growing up I had it on nearly every salad!

I got 11 baby Koi today .. 2 bucks each for a tank that was doing nothing .. Now I gotta get planting something or other ..

Anyway a little stopgap until I get 15 or so silver perch , or can scrape 60 bucks together to get another 300 W heater for some tiny tropical meat fish ..

This hobby gets addictive!

Johnnie, I bought some water cress from bunnings a few months back, it was in the herb section.... But it died on me....

I have another plant called Yugoslavian watercress that I bought from a pond shop, it tastes great, and grows rampantly in the water...