motherlode
@Rolln_J
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dont shit the bed!
yep - all types of bugs are bigger down south
Ewps...oh yeah, GIMP just shit the bed, too.
What's the difference between crawdaddies and crayfish? I thought they were pretty much the same thing--a freshwater mud bug.
I think they're the same--
they just grow bigger in the warmer weather/water down south...
yeah very possible, i was under the assumption that crawdaddys are the slightly bigger cousins of crayfishI think they're the same--
they just grow bigger in the warmer weather/water down south...
I forgot to address this. What's your climate/zone? IIRC, you're in SoCal. If that's the case, you can legally keep tilapia.So wanna do this. Just not sure what fish would thrive well in this climate. May have to set something up in a greenhouse.
Originally we were thinking about doing largemouth, but after doing some reading it seems we might have a problem keeping them fed well enough to get to any decent weight within a reasonable amount of time. Also, breeding more may be problematic. I'm not sure how we'll get bluegill to breed, if they're like pumpkinseeds they need a sandy bottom to make a nest, and their nests are at least 3' across. If I liked the flavor of trout, I'd seriously consider it. For some reason I just don't care for it.There are tons of crawdads in the lakes and streams of the sierras sea,also i think sunfish like crappie,bluegill and largemouth would work well in there,maybe even a few trout in the winter when the water cools.Gonna need some kind of netting over the top,one cormorant finds it and your fish are done gone within 24 hours,Thats a big ass reservoir dave should have put a window in the side,lol.The little mahindra dave scored is really coming in handy,deal of the century.
I'm up in the northern part of the triangle now Sea. Average temps here are mid 60's. From what little research I have done trout and salmon are my best bet.I forgot to address this. What's your climate/zone? IIRC, you're in SoCal. If that's the case, you can legally keep tilapia.
Originally we were thinking about doing largemouth, but after doing some reading it seems we might have a problem keeping them fed well enough to get to any decent weight within a reasonable amount of time. Also, breeding more may be problematic. I'm not sure how we'll get bluegill to breed, if they're like pumpkinseeds they need a sandy bottom to make a nest, and their nests are at least 3' across. If I liked the flavor of trout, I'd seriously consider it. For some reason I just don't care for it.
I thought about a window! And yes, we're going to be putting up a screen, but I'd prefer to enclose the whole thing if at all possible so that I would be afforded year-round growing. I love that Mahindra!
The little mahindra dave scored is really coming in handy,deal of the century.
I love that Mahindra!
Yeah, I might have to agree, EXCEPT, these outfits also sell white sturgeon. I could *totally* eat me some sturgeon, but we just don't have the space for behemoths like that.I'm up in the northern part of the triangle now Sea. Average temps here are mid 60's. From what little research I have done trout and salmon are my best bet.
Celtic and us are north of the Tehachapi Range, so legally we can't culture tilapia (and, we'd have to go down south to get them). If we were talking salties, I'd know exactly what animals I could keep and which I couldn't.I would think you'd be able to pull off tilapia, maybe you're to high elevation
Perhaps a different species of cichlid would work.
I believe there are a few deep water species that can take quite a bit of cold
Maybe a heater, solar powered one even.
No you do not! A former trade contact did so, importing Mexican angelfishes to the US, got himself in a HEAP of trouble. I've known others who were caught with things like alligator gar and got dinged.You don't want to get in bad with DNR or Fish & Wildlife or whatever they call them out west.
I can't find stripeys for sale via the two outfits I've found as aquaponics suppliers. I have another former trade buddy who's gone from mariculture to aquaponics, and HE is finally looking into the animal I've been saying for years would be fantastic in this scenario, assuming environmental factors are tolerable--pacu--a relative of the piranha. Reproduction is one of the reasons why I felt we should reconsider the largemouth, without a large, more natural pond I don't see it really working out. That doesn't mean I don't want to have a go at getting our animals to reproduce, but we may have to set up a small brooder/breeding barrel or similar.What about stripped bass? I saw you mentioned large mouth bass, I believe strippers are better for farming.
Without tilapia or a different specie of cichlid I'm not sure you'll be able to reach 100% sustainability, ala bio dome:)
Choice for mouth brooders is kind of slim and that's about the only type of spawn I think would have a chance,fwiw.
QT is easy. Just hit up craigslist for a used 40 or 60 gallon tank, run it bare bottom with sponge filters, then quarantine for two weeks. If you do end up needing to use meds then sponge filters and a bare tank are easy-peasy to clean out before you add your next set of fish to be QT'd. No need for a heater if you keep the QT tank in an interior area...you just want to avoid temp extremes while they are still under the stress of acclimating to a new environment.People tell us to just fish 'em out of the lakes/rezzies, but my first thoughts are that we have no way to quarantine, and disease would be exceedingly difficult to control in this scenario without QTing the animals.
QT is easy. Just hit up craigslist for a used 40 or 60 gallon tank, run it bare bottom with sponge filters, then quarantine for two weeks. If you do end up needing to use meds then sponge filters and a bare tank are easy-peasy to clean out before you add your next set of fish to be QT'd. No need for a heater if you keep the QT tank in an interior area...you just want to avoid temp extremes while they are still under the stress of acclimating to a new environment.
I'd still recommend doing a QT on any fish you add to a aquaponics system unless your supplier is able/willing to pre-QT your fish for a few weeks before delivering them. Mainly because you don't want to go and add medications that can kill your beneficial bacteria (for the nitrogen cycling) to your main system.
You can also use landscape fabric to cover that pond and reduce evaporation. Cheap option but I used it all the time for customer's ponds and it usually does an ok job of keeping out pests that can decimate your fish population (storks and other large birds were always the number one pest problem for all of my customers).
I'm not sure about the potassium permanganate, it's something I used to use for clearing ponds back in the day (and staining my clothes purple). But those other meds you mention are not allowed in US aquaculture. They're not necessarily needed, either. For example, if you suspect external parasites a saltwater dip is a great tool (and for salties, a freshwater dip) here.The idea here is to EAT the fish
Would you want to eat fish that have been through that?
Malachite Green, copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, thank you very much but I'll pass.......
Yeah, these are fish with which my only experience has been freshwater scuba diving. It sounds like they're the carp of the cichlid world, although most cichlids are pretty damned hardy I'd say. Discus are one of the exceptions. Anyway, when I was in Puerto Rico the husband of one of my cousins showed me his set-up. They're in San Juan so all outdoor space comes at a premium--he set up tubes over a 30gal bin, hung the tubes from his fence. Did great but he wasn't using fish, nutrients only so really more of a hydro situation, but it was nothing more than a pump, a few pieces of PVC and that cheap little bin.Nice. Jed Clampet would be impressed with yer concrete (and timber) pond. I'd try ta use crappie if I were you. The mutated cichlids we call "bluegill" are too hardy anymore. Yer tank could be diseased with nuclear waste and everything dead an gone, an Mr. Bluegill swims along jus fine. Sun perch would do jus right or like ya said crappie..jf. Mud grubs gotta have their mud and a place ta dig a well so I don't know if they'd be kosher. Worth tryin though. Ya ever plant yer corn first then yer pole beans then yer squash/melon all in that same area? They help each other along real nice. Here in that bible belt we call that a trinity. See in you limited on space that'd work right nice fer ya. Aquaponics bringing mother nature to tha concrete jungles. I've started buildin somethin like it just gotta nip an pinch at it though, ain't got tha funds justa hole up an build one like y'all researched and did. Sooooooo fuggin sweet. Keep this thread Rollin I just hammered my chair down to tha floor.
I already have a few kiddie pools on hand, I've done plenty of work using those and they're a sight cheaper and sturdier than a glass tank (which I'd have to find a flat place for in any event). I'm a huge proponent of QT, so it won't take much to convince me of its utility.@rubthe nub Running a QT gives you the option of medicating your fish without compromising your entire system. That is why I said, "If you do end up needing to use meds". It also gives you the opportunity to separate and observe fish because of aggression (giving or receiving) or to help ensure that fry aren't going to be gobbled up in the main system (especially since the OP's system isn't that big).
I've done QT's for ponds and aquaponics systems for more than a decade. About 50-75% of the time the fish need nothing at all (just stay on top of water quality for those two weeks). Probably another 20-30% of the time the fish do well with a combo of salt and aloe vera for broad range bacterial treatment and prevent stress during acclimation. The other 5% ended up getting treated with potassium permanganate (which isn't toxic unless you are rubbing it on your skin or drinking toxic levels of it). KMnO4 at low doses is even used to remove pesticides from veggies at low doses so I really don't think it belongs grouped together with those other chemicals you listed. I have had to use KM with sunfish species more than with other pond and aquaponics species because I lived in an area that was warm pretty much all year round and contamination for gill flukes from the fish farms were a constant issue.
You've noticed my bit about fish in the sig line, yes? Old Dougy taught me that. That, and "get yer GODDAMN HANDS OUTTA THA TANK!"If ya thank'in food ya ain't board an thank'in bout feeling sick.
Are they? I'll keep that in mind (regarding water quality). We have West Nile virus out here, too, but the one that really scares me, as I've lost a family member to it, is dengue. Also Lyme disease, but the fish can't help me there, that's the job of my chickenbirds.Plus them lil fishes are prit sensitive to water climates and if they start die'n yer at less of a loss financially and ya know not to put yer future supper in yet. Also them lil buggers will eat all tha skeeter larvea you can chuck at'em. We round here got them viruses from tha west side of tha Nile river n such so we gotta watch wat bugs er bite'n us.
I was thinking about the size thing, thanks for giving me a good shove in that direction. I bet they'll cook up even better if you leave the heads on. Just sayin' (and, it was how I was brought up, there's good eatin' in the heads!).Id get different sizes of dinner fish too cuz two ta three inchers are gonna take a minute ta git dinner size. An yer gonna wanna try yer food factory sooner than later. Plus they breed on tha moon phase so ya wanna have some mature ones ta kickofft tha replenishing of food source. That's jus my two sense. That's all I got fer naw.
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