Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi John, Thanks very much, the size of last years yabbies are varied.
We still have 40-50 under an inch, 8 i think between 1-2, and a single female that grew large enough to breed this year and is currently in with our resident male.

We could have probably got them a little bigger but they spent the year in a dark garage.
Are you breeding in your system? or specially set up?

Regards

My nursery setup is in a 500litre Aquarium
I Run Shell grit on the floor to keep the PH up for them and the little ones can just disappear into it.
I'm trying to get a decent setup to breed single sex hybrids if I can get the OK to keep the right species here.
Didn't have any luck last year but a change of diet and lots of detritus in the pond when they are very small
has seen this lot doing pretty well so far.
Hope to get these up to a size to be able to sex them in a couple of months.
Too much work for thousands but I hope to get a premium for these.
Just ordered a USB Microscope to see if I can see the important bits with that and sex them earlier while its still possible to get a bit of size on them in ponds before it gets to cool.

I will run with this lot in the dark too I think to see if it stops a bit of the cannibalism although I didn't think of it slowing their growth

Bit of 15mm PVC pipe for comparison this is 6 weeks old from hatching
there are some a bit either side of this size

Hi John,

Yours are growing much faster then mine, that's for sure.
Most of ours are only that big after 12mnths.
We had a fair bit of cannibalism to begin with, but once we started to sort by size, then by sex, it all stopped.
Males in one tank with enough 'space' to be territorial, and the females in another.
And carrots on demand.

I take it that the use of shell grit is for their exoskeleton health?

All of these will end up in the bottom of the new DWC system we have almost completed to grow out.

Regards

Yeah Porter
Initially the Shell grit was for skeletal health and reading Ag notes that suggested that Stable pH above 7 was preferable. But it was when I saw the burrowing behaviour in it and the fact that they can disappear instantly if threatened it sold me on the idea.

Diet is high Algae and plankton in the water initially and after a couple of weeks - grated carrot, peas, tomato, avocado, worms and a small amount of meat and they are dynamite on mosquito lavae. I'm feeding every second day but am starting to have the feeling from watching them that to grow to maximum potential maybe multiple feeds a day like fin fish fry might be the go. They really attack the fresh feed when it goes in.
How early where you able to sex them? I haven't been able to see anything yet.

I Think this will be my only lot this year the berried female seems to be absorbing all the eggs, nothing has hatched and I thought they would have after four weeks, But I haven't watched closely before and this maybe what the eggs look like just before hatching. we did have some really hot days 44+ and although the aquariums are in the shade the water did get close to 28C. I have a cooling system on the nursery tank but not on the other.
regards
John

Beauty mate, very good.
What sort of filtration do you have at the moment?
Are you needing it with that kind of food range?
Are they leaving much food wastage on that diet?

We have been sexing them with reasonable success at around an inch in size?
Because they are really hard to handle at that size, we use a small diameter pipe,
and trap them inside, take the pipe out and let them slide bum first out the end with the nippers and head trapped inside, then gently hold the tail still enough to have a look under a bright light. We get it right most of the time.

Ours birthed late this year, but don't worry to much about the eggs, they will look like little light bluey/pinky aliens hanging off her without egg sacks just a few days before they hatch.

Let me know how your are getting along with them.

Regards
Jeff

Called in for a visit to see the new setup one word great
But I can tell you he has the cleanest water I have ever seen in aquaponics and I have seen a few
All the plants look so healthy
Any body in the area should arrange a visit
Thanks again
FF

Thanks Milne, very kind of you, its always a pleasure.

Regards

I second what F&F said... i dropped in yesterday morning

Hey Porter, your pictures have inspired me to plant a passionfruit and grape vine Is yours a purple/black passionfruit?

Never had much luck with them in the ground so time to try something new.

God bless, froggo.

G'Day Craig, good to catch up with you, it had been to long, thanks mate!

Hi Froggo, thanks mate, drop in for a coffee next time your down this way and have a poke around, anytime.
We are flooding the new system this weekend coming and all going well we should be growing in it within a fortnight or so.
The Grape is a beauty and very healthy, we just need some sun to ripen them now.

The passion fruit became an issue.
It began as a 'real' passion fruit, however somewhere along the line reverted to its rootstock, which happens to be a 'fake' passion fruit. I had planned to rip it out, however, we had visitors here the other day who very kindly pointed out that i should leave the root base in the system because it is proven to grow in AP, and to graft a 'real' passion fruit into the existing trunk. Once it takes, i can then remove the fake one above.
As such, that is exactly what i will attempt to do at the right time of the season.

So fairly frustrating, but it looks like good may come of it.

Regards

next time I'm down that way Porter I will let you know, thanks would like to see your system.
That passionfruit root stock is sure growing well so a new graft sounds like a good plan. I might try the standard black/purple variety when I see one in the shops.

God bless, froggo

Beauty mate, i look forward to it.

Yep, for sure, i am going to be looking at the easiest growing version i can find to better the chances of the graft.
Check up on Colum too, i think he is going to give one a go too.

Regards

Hey all,

Well, the grapes have finally begun turning,
Really happy,
I reckon they will see the kitchen in a week or so.

It is only a few bunches, maybe half a dozen, but it looks really promising for next year given the progression.

Very Happy.

Hi Porter, the vine sure looks in good nick. Do you have much salt in your system? Trying to find out if salt is a problem with grapes and rhubarb?

God bless, froggo.

I had no luck with rhubarb and salt..
..
.