Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Boss The fish company says that they do not do New Mexico because they have to have an inspector on site for every sale of fish. So they decided not to do New Mexico. Check with your supplier to see what you can get there. I would think cats would share with trout as well.

I just paid $30 bucks for 50 6 - 8" Channel Cat fingerlings. I got two albinos also in the group. You can see them in a dark tank still. I like that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did do some clean up yesterday on my garden. I had an overflow on a couple of barrels. I tomato fell off and plugged my hi level drain and spilled a bit of water. I started clean up after that and got some beds cleared out and found that two more were leaking a little for the same reason. So I got a bucket of water and started cleaning out my fill and drain line ends. All the trash in the system seems to get into them little bitty holes in the pipes and plug them up. I am trying to come up with a good plan to do rain water catchment of around 10000 gallons. I am thinking that much so I could use rain water all year around. After all I do get about 70 inches a year. I just looked at a Walmart above ground pool that would hold 6300 gallons that looks like it might be the thing to use. 18 foot diameter and 4 foot deep. comes with a cover and a pump.

My daughter wanted to go fishing today and I agreed to help. For a change I got to catch one, then 6 more. Hers got away. I lost 3 leaders so I am going to chuck the old fishing gear that is 5 plus years old and get new. THe spinning reals dont work either. I will have to fix them too I guess. Most of the fish were caught by just hanging the bait in and pulling them out.

Oh boy that's cool. When we at the fish hatchery they had golden Brook trout. We really wanted some fo the same reason. Alas they didn't have them as fingerlings or perhaps they weren't golden yet?

I picked a few fish off the bank this morning. I am guessing that it was the start of an ammonia turnover in the outdoor pond. Half of the dead would not fit the 5 gallon bucket. I put some water hoses in and rigged to splash the water to help aerate the water. I also made an air siphon to circulate water from the bottom some. I used my old air pump from the AP garden. It still worked. After breakfast I will check on them again.
I went for a swim to agitate the water some too. Nice and warm today.

I took the temp in the pond and found it at 90 deg F. A bit warm. I also did a set of tests from my Ap test kit.
PH 7
AM less than .025
Rites 0.0
Rates 5.0
That is a bunch of really good pond numbers except for the temp being a bit high. I wish I had a DO meter.
So it can not be a turnover of the pond. There is about 12 fish dead now so I think it must be low O2. I just saw 2 more a bit ago. they are floating out in the middle. I did spot several schools of fry about 1/2 inch long. One was a ball of fry about 2 foot across so there is lots of fry in the pond. I have been concerned about the ducks getting all the fry out like they did the minnows. But NOT SO.

Wife informed me she saw the fish gulping air on surface last night before dark.

I think it took all the big ones out. When I fed last nite there were no more big ones trying to eat the pellets that I saw. I took out at least a dozen that were 18 -24 inches and about 6 of the big mouth bass. I finally put my rain bird sprinkler out and let the water spray on the tank for a day and every thing seems back to normal so I still think it was an o2 problem.

Well no more fish deaths so for. I have been sprinkling the pond on and off since the catastrophe and it seems to work to keep the O2 level better. The water gets to looking bad and we water. I also set up a couple of barrels to get water from the big pond and use it for top ups. The water numbers were great on the pond because of the rains. I now have a 55 gallon top up tank that fills on its own. I have to refill it ever couple of days so am using about 20 gallons a day.

Yes, I gather this is why many hatcheries don't deal with New Mexico. I understand the hesitation is whirling disease which New Mexico Game and Fish is trying to get under control. I'd love to have a catfish. Currently our system is overstocked and pushing the filtration to it's limits.
Thanks Don

I have had an exasperating summer this year since I hurt my knee I did not get to do much. I hope I really am better now and I will be doing more. An MRI on the knee next week to be sure but am getting around now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read my thread. I have not done much this year except keep it full of water and feed the fish. We did get a lot of Pesto from the Sweet Basal and some radishes. A bit of lettuce and Swiss chard. Tomatoes too.

Happy Thanksgiving. read your thread onlt few pages . sub to read it later. nice one mate . am sorry For you fish loss - fish tend to die with open mouth if DO is less from my experience.

Sent from my SM-G355H using Tapatalk

Still going good for now. The little yellow tomatoes are still flowering and making toms. The basal looks like bolted to seed. Sweet peas look skinny still. Hope they fatten up soon. I am hungry for them. Radishes all snacked up now. Need more planted. Mint bush is huge again.

Today I got a small hand full of hot peppers out of my garden. I had forgotten about them. Two years ago one of my friends pulled up his pepper plant from a pot on his porch and chucked it out. He said it was done. I took it home and stuck it in my gravel bed and it survived. Got about 75 peppers off it the first year and a bunch this year. They are about 3/4 " long..