Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yeah, i dont wan't to accidently introduce any parascites or diseases (let alone use yabbies i can see have parascites)



Quote Ausyfish "Jade Perch really seem to grow very fast compared to Silver Perch. Some growers have even said, twice as fast."

Wow, thats good!!!

Quote steve "This covers omega-3 oils and the fact that jade perch are THE highest in omega3 out of 200 tested sea foods and fish. More even than atlantic salmon!"

another plus

Quote Steve "Seems Bruce from ausyfish was right, they have a narrow temp band where they feed like crazy he said about 22C to 28C with 24C being ideal. "

Possibly a downside, Will you be heating yours?

Tanks will be in the shed, with a greenhouse attached to the end, so hopefully will be able to keep ambient temps in winter rreasonably good. Aiming for 15 - 18 without heating. May heat to get to 22, but would like to try without first. Jades sound like a good option, get them in spring and the 22 - 28 degree feeding range won't be a problem, they'll be on the barbie before next winter.

sounds good, and getting our fish at the same time (if we do share an order) we can compare growth rates, and compare growth from our different systems

I think i was quoted $1 each (@100pcs ex. freight) for the tandanus..........will need to go thru my old emails.

The growth of the Jade perch is outstanding, but sadly i don't think i will get them again. Although i could a little more to insulate my tank i still think i would ned heating. I'm not sure if they are the best choice for the cooler states.

Jades are native to the warmer Northern territory arent they?

QLD i believe. Their best growth rate is achieved at around 24C to 26C and i think they struggle below about 15C

Silver perch struggle below 10C i believe. Its only 5C, but in melbourne thats a bit

One challenge up here may be keeping the fish cool in summer. I wonder what temperature the fish struggle at as a max. I know my outdoor aquarium has been up to 35 degrees in summer and it is under roof, receiving no direct sun. Of course it is only small (200l) so reacts to the high temps more quickly. A 2000l + tank would be more stable.

VB, just going from memory. but i think you may be in trouble above about 32C or 34C for the perch.

You're still better off! we get it cold in winter and HOT in summer. a week straight of 35C to 39C heats things up down here. I have a split system stashed for install in the "office" where the indoor tank is. I think the 1000Lt out door will be fine as its in the ground

Damn, you're probably right. Silvers may be just that bit easier to keep here, yeat if they can be grown out over a spring/summer/autumn, temps shouldn't be a problem

VB, good thing is that $10 buys you 5 or so bags of ice from the servo. nice and easy, just bust it up and chuck it in.

When u think about how lucky I am, I think you may forget that I get frosts at my place in winter and have recorded temperatures as low as -4.

I think you may be right

Seriously though, as an informational point for people, its not so much the max and min temps we experience (especially with large bodies of water) but the long term trends.

I found that my 1000Lt tank was fine in autmn even though the temps were gettng really cold outside, becasue they were only for 5 hours after sunset and the day temps were still in the 20's. Winter though, gets 10C and lower as soon as the sun sets and rarely rises above 15C. This is the big killer.

For those of you are becoming anxious about the temperature of your tanks getting too high (and that will be everyone at some time), you might want to consider a cooling tower arrangement (like they have on large industrial air conditioning systems).

It could be hooked into the water flow of your system and would serve to oxygenate the water at the same time.

In its most primitive form, a cooling tower is nothing more than a waterfall with air blowing through it. Such a device would be much more effective and far less inexpensive to operate than buying ice.

Yeah, i have a friend whos worried about his trout he was going to get over summer. His plan was to dump blocks of ice in it every day. But the hatchery he was going to get them from was poisoned and all fish lost.


From my experience with silvers when i was younger, (and knew nothing about keeping fish) is that silvers are basically indestructable. I had two silver perch in a 2ft aquarium (so maybe around 50l) outside with a fw mussle. The perch lasted a year and grew abit, before they died one at a time. This had no filtration nor water changes (just top ups), and im guessing the fish died due to high nitrate lvls.

So temp wasnt a problem for me and my silvers, just ignorance (or stupidity)

more rpobably due to extended high ammnia levels

GD good one on the cooling tower. Hows this for an extension: duct the air from the cooling tower to your geen house and cool that too!

In essence a cooling tower and an evaporative A/C are the same thing, using the same laws of physics! Why waste the cool air comming out of it?