Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone
I have been looking at this site for a while but as yet I made no comment.
9 months ago I built a lined pond Aprox 500,000 liters
the first couple of months I stocked it with wild species that I caught in the creek near our house, ie Western Australian native freshwater fish & cray fish I guess environmentaly sound but not much to look at.
After a whileI tried silver perch about 100 small fish never saw them for 3 months then about 20 died over a period of 2 weeks I figure they probably all dead could not find a reason. recently I noticed a boom in insect life
like larveas beetles boatman ect like thick with em.
so anyway I wanted somthing more interesting so a friend who was empteng a soak gave me a rubish bin full of small feral goldfish
I put them in & they grew like mad (you asleep yet) as goldfish were never my intention, 2 days ago I put in 10- 500g silver perch & 10- 750g barramundi, the silver perch disapeard which almost makes me think some of the origional lot could be alive. the Barra a quite visible, skulking around the surface with the ocational big splash, great this is what I wanted. But now what I dont know what to feed them after they have eaten all the goldfish will they eat insects or should I stick to the Perch

thanks
Slade

that's a beautiful pond Slade. Welcome to the forum.

The barra will eat almost anything that fits in their mouths, the goldies, the perch, the bugs if they are hungry enough. You might be able to get some barra pellets from a fish farm (where did you get the fish from?)

- I agree with Jaymie that the Barra have probably eaten all the perch and if they haven't yet, they will in time. I agree that commercial pellets would be your best bet.

Great pond (more like a lake)

BTW - crays will be gone too (eaten) and/or depending on the type, just got up and walked away.

yeah those are big barra, eat everything.
I've seen Barra try and eat live fish that were WAY too big to fit in their mouths... Funny watching them try to swim with their prey's tail still sticking out of their mouth... Really funny when their prey kicks! Little barra bucking wildly in the tank!

wow thats a lot of quick responses!!
I got the fish from golden pond in Mundajong WA
A shop mainly for eating fish supplies. I am just doing it for a bit of fun I have always dreamed of going up North & catching Barra in a mangrove Creek never have , maybee if they survive & grow to a couple of Kilo I will give it a go in my own front yard my only concern if it gets to cold will they die
the pond has a lot of shade & current temp is 21.c on the bottom & 28.c top 300mm come winter will drop under 20.c maybee down to 17-18 at a guess

BTW the perch & Barra Are the same size

For now... yes.
Perch tend to grow slower than Barra, but perhaps they will never see each other as prey...

how deep is the pond?

1 to 1.5 m shallow end to deeper end with basin @ 1.8 m.
I am a complete Amateur at this but am keen to learn Have sheds & a ridiculous amount of FRESH available water althoe a bit IRON
just for fun I would like to try Aqua on a sustainable & covering cost level is there a mentor Availible. will be in VICTORIA early feb
Slade

Umm, I think we have a new clubhouse leader in the fishtank stakes.
If you are intending to have a crack at AP, you will need to get your nutrient level up in your water. With such a large volume this means lotsa fish. You must get a pond aerator so there is plenty of air for that fishload.
Use your sheds as breeding tank areas or convert them to greenhouses for year round protected food production.
How long is a piece of string? If you have the time and resources to do this properly you could have a benchmark commercial system. Do your research and enrol in a part time aquaculture course. It is pointless throwing good money away in fish losses thru not doing research.
To do this properly is going to take a fat wallet. You have the water, if u have the resources it looks like an amazing project for you.

Welcome and keep us informed. We are all insanely jealous but wish you every success.

Nice looking pond there Slade. Barragup is down near Nannup isnt it??
Its gonna get way too cold for those Barra down that way after the summer is over so I think the Perch will be your best bet. Alternatively you could stock it with trout in the late autumn and grow them on till late spring/early summer. With the pond being only 1.8m deep the water will get to hot for them to survive all year, especially in a year like this one with so many hot days.

mandurah troutman.
back of coodanup and I agree it will be too cold IMHO.
Trout would be good all year round.

Ohh Mandurah way is it. I know there is a Barragup Pool not far out of Nannup so thought it may have been near there. Last week I had a guy I sold a few trout to phone me with the news that they had all gone belly up after that 44c day, his dam was just over 2m deep. I get them to survive in my dams all year as they are 6 metres deep and its cold down there.

Do you try and lift your deep water Troutman?

At that depth wouldn't it be oxygen depleted???