Creek Street Micro Farm

[Shane]

Hi Shane,

At the moment, our unheated tanks would be around 17 degrees C. My fingerling tanks are 21 degrees C.

Jade perch are not a good choice for Melboure......particularly in winter. While you may encounter people who keep them down there, the jades will not eat much once the tank temperature drops below 2O degrees and they will start to evidence stress as the temperature approaches 16 degrees C.........and will begin to die below that.

Yeah, I'd love to try some Jades but I'm not interested in having to heat them through down here.

The best advice I can offer is to set your system up so that you can grow out your chosen species within the recommended seasonal window (in the case of temperature-sensitive species like trout, sleepy cod, barramundi, jade perch) or go for species which are native to your area.......like silver perch, eel-tailed catfish, etc.

Gary

Pretty much the way I've gone Gary,
Had Rainbows in for my first harvest of fish,
Now currently running Silvers & Catfish.

I actually thought your tank temps would have been a little warmer up there this time of year?
Or maybe mine are a little higher than the norm as Melbourne has 'generally' been a little more mild rather than cold so far (although that will change no doubt now winter has begun).

Cheers,
Shane.

[GaryD]

Hi Shane,

I actually thought your tank temps would have been a little warmer up there this time of year?

Since we live near Ipswich, we're probably a bit cooler than other parts of South East Queeensland at this time of year.

Gary

[bunya boy]

Shane,
we live near Gary in Mount Crosby, at a little higher elevation (50m ASL) and my Fish tank, insulated with 75mm EPS panel and under the house proper, was at 12 to 14 degrees C for a couple of months over winter.
It is now at 18 degrees and dropping. Almost good enough for Trout!
In Summer it rises to about 28 to 30 degrees. All the insulation does is stop the fluctuations in temperature from swinging as much as the ambient air does, just provides a 'dampening' effect.

Cheers IanK

[Shane]

It is now at 18 degrees and dropping. Almost good enough for Trout!

Gary & Ian,

How either of you tried running Trout up there?

[bunya boy]

I haven't, but have thought seriously about it. The trouble is, QLD DPI (Fisheries) must think that Trout are a very dangerous feral animal for QLD, because the red tape involved to even think about getting Trout up here is horrendous.
Same with Tilapia, Koi and other 'introduced' species. I wouldn't think that wild trout could survive in natural QLD water courses because of ambient temperatures? Anyway, the Trout that is normally available from hatcheries is Rainbow Trout, which can't even breed sustainable populations in pristine Southern Trout waters, let alone in QLD.
They have to be stocked every year, even in Tasmania. Brown Trout can and do breed in the wild, so Hatcheries don't bother with them because most of their business comes from re-stocking trout streams with Rainbows!!
Go figure the logic.

I can go about 20kms from Brisbane (south) and catch wild Tilapia from the Logan River . . . they are wide spread in the far north of QLD.
Most ornamental gardens that are State or Local Government sponsored, sport a population of Koi, as do a lot of back yard gardens!
Gold fish and other Carp are commonly kept by aquarists and others in QLD without restriction it seems.
But mention Trout . . they look at you as if you have two heads!!

So, I don't think legal Trout in AP in QLD will happen in the near future, although there are some bad bugg#rs about, aren't there !

Cheers IanK

[Shane]

OK thanks,

I didn't realise all the red tape you had up there regarding Trout,
Surprised also about the Tilapia abundance too, I've never seen one in the flesh.

Cheers,
Shane.

[Crusty]

OK thanks,

I didn't realise all the red tape you had up there regarding Trout,
Surprised also about the Tilapia abundance too, I've never seen one in the flesh.

Cheers,
Shane.

There is not that much red tape. See below a communication with QLD DPI that might clear it up for you.

There are three aquaculture authority holders that have a rainbow trout approval (none are actively farming trout). It would be appropriate for an authorised fish farmer to bring trout in to Qld, however (as conditions on all aquaculture approvals state), Fisheries would have to receive and approve an application to allow translocation and the fish would have to be health certified by a recognised lab before translocation could take place. Once the trout were in Qld by this process it would have then been appropriate for the authorised fish farmer to sell and distribute the fish to unregistered aquaponic farms. The farms would still have a duty of care to secure the fish appropriately.

[Shane]

There is not that much red tape. See below a communication with QLD DPI that might clear it up for you.

Thanks for the indepth explanation Crusty, always good to get the facts.
But honestly, it still sounds like a lot of rigmarol just to get Trout if you live in QLD to me.

[GaryD]

Hi,

A few weeks ago, we bought 100 sleepy cod and we've been waiting for them to get big enough to start to ramp up their feeding regime.

Keeping their tank clean requires that we syphon their tank bottom weekly. This is a two person job because someone has to be on the discharge end of the syphon with a strainer.....to catch the tiny fingerlings that get caught up in the hose.

Sleepies can be a protracted grow out (two years plus) but, managed correctly, they can be raised faster than that. To achieve that, however, they have to be trained to eat properly and their territorial nature has to be subjugated.

Overcoming their territorial instinct requires that they be confined in a very tight space......and we've used two plastic laundry baskets inside of each other. This allows us to regulate the aperture size (to keep the fish in) while still allowing plenty of water movement through the basket mesh.

We drilled plenty of holes in the base of the inner basket.......and a lesser number in the outer basket.

Sleepy cod are a messy fish......and I hope that their movement around the bottom of the basket will push their poop into the base of the outer basket. Time will tell.

I've set the basket arrangement under the bio-filter outlet and I've placed an air stone in the basket, too.......to ensure plenty of air for the little fish.

Gary

[froggo]

Hi Gary,

what do you have in your bio filter? I like the washing baskets. I have used one for all the new fish I get so I can watch them in their tank monitoring their feeding/health for a few weeks.

God bless froggo.