Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all,
I've finally gone cross eyed doing the research below, time to post up for folks thoughts...

What I'm looking for
- Confirmation of my research below
- Recommendations of fish to replace my RMW Tilapia given constraints and below research
- *Not* a 'why my fish is better than yours' discussion, more of a fact based experience / knowledge for species you are familiar with

Background / Constraints
- System is 3 IBC totes conected in F&D. 150 gallons of H20 per FT
- They are contained in a garage area as my raised beds, temperature passively regulated by 12k gallons of H20 in concrete cisterns within that space).
- Water temps are at 55F (Tilapia are dying off) and I anticipate dropping another 10 degrees or so to get through the coldest of winter
- Summer temps (water wise) will be into the low 80's (estimate)
- I don't want to actively heat or seal / insulate / aerate the tanks. Passive solar and thermal mass preferred to make this work.
- House is at 9200ft above sea level

Preferences in Fish
- Temperature / general robustness to be able to live / grow in my temp ranges
- Omnivore fish preferred simply because of ease of feeding
- Ease of breeding (may be a long shot)

Other Items
- Some of the fish listed are on 'lists', but from my experience in Colorado they are good about considering the use / distribution of the fish before saying no. For example my system (< 50 fish, self contained, isolated from water sources, not for sale / distribution / release) I was given a green light for Tilapia in my system. Please just comment on the research, I'll figure out what is / is not allowed here in Colorado.

Research
Here's what I've gleaned off the web for cold water species for my areas of interest. '?' indicate I think it's right, but would like confirmation.

Thanks!

I have bullhead catfish. My system is just less than a year old. They're omnivores and seem to be doing fine in my water which is in the low 40s Fahrenheit. Many similarities to channel catfish. They don't grow as big but are more tolerant of poor water quality(low oxygen).

I'm interested in what you end up with because I'm considering a different species in the spring. My constraints and desires are similar to yours.

Are you sure your summer water temps will be that high? Id be surprised if they were.

Quite possibly not. Cistern water temps were 74F going into the winter season, so it may be somewhere in the low to mid 70s - but just an estimate at this point....

If you can keep the temp 75 F or below then trout and other cold water fish are an option.

If you can keep the temp 85 F or below then cool water fish like Yellow Perch would be an option.

Bullheads and Bluegills would probably do pretty well. Bluegills are durable and do well but don't grow very fast and aren't really omnivores (I seriously doubt that you could raise most Bluegill to a good eating size in 1.5 years - probably more like 3 to 4 years but some might be ready before then)(http://fishandboat.com/pafish/bluegill/00bluegill_overview.htm). Channel catfish it's hard to say, they don't handle the cool temps as well as Bullhead and would probably have more troubles. Carp will work but most Americans don't consider them to be an eating fish so if you want an eating fish probably not the best choice (although they can be eaten).

From what I can tell you should be leaning toward Bullhead if you want an omnivore. They grow to around 1 to 2 pounds at a pretty good rate. I don't know if they'll breed in the tank but that might be a possibility (if you don't want to keep fishing or having to buy more - depending on your state regs). There used to be a pretty big export market for Bullheads to be sent to Europe as a food fish and they can be pretty tasty but you might have to purge them in another tank first.

Anyone have bullhead breeding success or know of someone who has?

I can't think of anyone here on the forum that's tried breeding them yet but I could be wrong. Ease of breeding mentioned from other sources runs the whole gamut.

Thanks for the thoughts. Kicking this again as I was expecting / hoping for more to weigh in with their experiences with these cold water varieties in their systems...

Scenario 1:
'Silver' Carp: Look to have a wide temp range, good growth rate, this type of carp hangs out in the middle but looks to clean the bottom of the tank as well. As for the stigma with carp, as long as it's a source of protein I'll find a way to cook it up.

Scenario 2:
Mix of blue gill and either carp / catfish. Blue gill will be slow growing but robust, carp / catfish will help clean the tank and will be a good snack until the Blue gill are ready.

The scenario may be dictated by ease of acquiring each type in my area. Any other thoughts / recommendations / corrections to my table in the first post?

I used bluegill this past season. My first introduction of fish, I lost ALL of them within 24 hours. Still not sure why.

The second time, all the fish farms were out of virtually all fingerlings as it was so late in the season. He was able to get me about 12 or so bluegill, which was better than nothing. I knew they wouldn't mature by harvest time, but went forth anyway. I wanted to see how long and at what temperatures they would survive in the winter.

Almost my whole IBC tank turned into an ice cube, save for about 1 or 2 cubic feet in the dead center of the tank that never froze over. With warm temps lately, the ice has virtually all melted. Only two bluegill died throughout the winter. It got so cold, my digital thermometer stopped reading, but I remember seeing it as low as 28 at one point.

I'll be stocking fully with blue gill here in a month or two, and will likely move them all to an indoor fish tank come November/December.

Still, I was very impressed with the hardiness of the fish and how they were able to survive such low temperatures.

I'm thinking one of these species might do the trick!





However, I would not suggest trying this at home... nor with frogs:



I am so allergic to the cold...



--
Sam