Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, after getting a record number of trout through the summer things were looking good for trout sales in a few weeks time. Unfortunately lady luck had other ideas as when I went into the fish shed this morning the power had tripped overnight and with the tanks full to capacity of niced sized fish the backup aeration wasnt enough for trout survival for the length of time the pumps were off.

End result - all advanced Rainbow Trout fingerlings gone and est 75% of the 125mm sized ones also deceased. Silver Perch in nearby tanks were unaffected and trout in the flow through system were not influenced at all.

With such a large number of loses I have no choice but to increase the price of my trout fingerlings this year from $2 to $3 ea in order to re coup some of the costs associated with growing the trout. Given that other fish suppliers in Perth are selling trout fingerlings for $4 and $5 a fingerling its still a cheaper price than the other options.

To all those who had already ordered the advanced fingerlings these are no longer available but I will have enough standard ones to supply you if you would be happy with those. My estimation is that I should have enough fish to supply everyone that has already ordered plus a few more but I expect to sell out quickly.

Aaaah shit that's terrible Gav, sorry to hear mate. I think the pricing is still very cheap in today's market and I don't think you will see complaints, well shouldn't see complaints especially the length you go to to serve the AP people of the Perth and surrounding areas.

Good reminder too for up and coming trout owners to make sure O2 is paramount in system design.

p.s. Got any cheap bait available, Gav?

Man that sucks!

Bugger! It must be a stressful business trying to keep all those trout alive. Especially this time of year. Really appreciate the service you provide though and am happy to pay extra to support your business

Terrible news Troutman. Hope you get some positives out of it.
Shouldn't take long to sell out now I'm sure.

Are you saying the price of your trout has gone up because of your losses due to overstocking and a lack of a suitable back up system sized accordingly?

No comment!

that sucks. sorry to hear it.

If you competition is selling for $4 or $5 why not increase to $3.5 regardless of loss?

Do people have to travel extra distance to get to you or is there some other reason that you can't get a better price?

Commiserations

I'm guessing it shows why scale is important. While that looks like a lot of fish to lose, their sale (alive) wouldn't pay for much in the way of extra equipment for a more robust backup system.

Sorry too hear that story, it's not a good one.

Man that sucks. Thoughts go out to you TM.

Sorry to hear TM, If you have frozen them quickly enough, see if any local reptile place or turtle keeper want them as turtle food?

Not overstocked Bio, I have carried more fish than what I had at the time in the tanks with no problems but yes the backup system was not adequate for the bio mass of fish stocked for the period of time without water circulation. Had the incident occurred a couple of months earlier or indeed a few weeks later (when many of the fish would have been sold) the losses would of been Nil or minimal.

For years now I have sold trout fingerlings into Perth for much lower prices than the fish suppliers located closer to Perth, if I have to increase the price of the fish this year by $1 and to a price still lower than the competition to stay in business then what is so wrong with that? The alternative is that I cease producing trout and everyone in Perth then has to pay $4 or $5 ea for a fish in the future. What price do you charge for your trout at the Markets you frequent Bio?? I bet I could buy one in your local supermarket for less.



The places located in Perth can charge more as its easy for people to just jump in the car and go pick up a few fish. I am located around 1.5 - 2hrs south of Perths southern suburbs so to sell enough volume of fish I have to deliver them to Perth and charge for delivery. I could charge more for my fish but at the end of the day you charge what you feel comfortable selling them for, I personally wouldnt feel right asking $4 or $5 each for a trout fingerling. I do what I do for the lifestyle and am not out to become a millionaire though at the end of the day you have to cover your costs and make something out of it which is why I have reluctantly increased the price for what trout I have left. If people are not happy with me doing that then they can go and buy them elsewhere and most likely pay more for them.





Your wrong there, I can tell you now you can fit a hell of a lot of dead trout fingerlings in a bucket. Given that I was asking $2 for a standard sized trout fingerling and $3 for the advanced ones there is a lot more $$ worth than what a better backup system would cost in that picture.

that's a real bummer TM,

looks like the weather is finally cooling down now as well.

There will always be businesses hungry for every dollar, many who care greatly about passing on their knowledge too, but I find it nice to hear there is room in the market for those who are in it for the love of it. Good luck for the future!!


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