Bigdaddy's Barramundi

[bigdaddy]

Hi everyone,

My daughter and I managed to take a photo of this slippery little sucker,

I brought them in mid Jan at 100 mm now 230mm-240mm long.

Cheers.

[GaryD]

Good effort.

The challenge, of course, will be to keep them going as we move into winter.

I carried Barramundi through last winter but I did so in Brisbane which enjoys much milder winters than does Adelaide.

What's your plan for maintaining water temperature?

Gary

[bigdaddy]

Thanks for that,

Aren't they a good looking fish?

Yes it sure is,I knew that when I got the barra but my problem then was if I got trout the temp of the fish tanks would be too high(32 C) In Brisbane you occasionally get down to 5 C overnight,In Adelaide we can get 0-5 regularly.

At the moment I have 2 300 watt Jaeger aquarium heaters in the system,1 in each 500 litre tank and they give about a 10 degree buffer.It's been down to 10 and the min in the fish tanks has been 20. something I aim for 26.

My electricity bill was slightly higher, but that could be in part because we bought a big bertha fridge,We would like to try and have some barra on the barbie at Christmas even if they will cost a bit more to heat in the winter,the next bill will probably determine if we eat the barra earlier than expected.

You may remember I was going to build a seperate 600 litre trout system with 3 200 litre drums and 600 1000 litres of grow bed.well,the thought hit me during the week why not put the barra into the 600 litre system and trout into the current barra system?That way I can save on heating and the enclosure I was going to build around the current system I could build around the smaller system.Unless I'm advised otherwise, I think I'll do that.I still have a couple of weeks to decide as I still need to build the grow bed.I welcome any suggestions.

If the temp gets any lower than 20 c I think I'm going to have to eat them and put trout in we'll just have to see I think.

Cheers.

[bigdaddy]

Hi everyone,

Time for an update,

Now I have 2 systems,a 500 litre barra system in a 500 litre tank with 2 300 watt draeger aquarium heaters two 6 " air discs running to a 1000 litre grow bed a float controlled 6000 litre per hour pump with a timer standpipe and a ball valve isolation.I isolate the grow bed on cold wet windy nights with this valve which allows aeration and heating to still occur.When I get under 20 c and can't hold the tank at that I isolate the grow bed and the next morning the fish tank is 28 C I then turn the valve on to allow for filtration again.The barra are still looking healthy and eating well.My word they are a magnificent fish! boy do they hit their food hard.

On the other side of my property I have a 500 litre trout system with 18 trout in it(used to be 20 but two jumped out.)This consists of a 500 litre fish tank 2 6 " air discs and a 3000 litre per hour pump on constantly with a bell siphon drain.(coincidently my system has just finished cycling yesterday from puting 125-150 mm trout fingerlings in on 5/6) on my long thin 700 litre grow bed.all growbeds are media filled with 20 mm cottage pebbles and the new system has a bay topped with expanded clay.The trout are as mad as meat axes and don't mind lots of feed either 4 times a day ATM.

Picture 1 is my barra setup now with a 200 litre fingerling or hospital tank connected by an overflow,the foam on top is my temporary permanent insulated lid.

Picture 2 is the second bay of my trout grow bed from the pergolla to show the growth of the plants.

Picture 3 is the third grow bed with a bell siphon.

Picture 4 is my fist grow bed top dressed with expanded ck\lay where the pump pumps fish nutrient in letucces and some bulbs are planted here tulips cos and butter nut crunch lettuce.

And Picture 5 is the trout tank next to the barbie.

Cheers.

[GaryD]

Hi BD,

Things seem to be cracking along nicely. You're obviously making good use of those 500 litre water tanks.....a very cost effective solution.

Gary

[bigdaddy]

Hi Gary,thanks for the encouragement,

The barramundi have not grown much over winter in our environment as you would expect.

I have been concerned with the appearance of fine solids back in the water of the fish tank,so unfortunately,I stirred up the water a lot today and really cleaned the bottom out,cleaned the heaters,air discs pipes etc,etc.I was using a fine fish net to try and scoop out the fines after vacuuming on the bottom and accidentally caught this bloke he's about 270mm long.I reckon he is a smaller one with some possibly 300 mm long.
Sorry about the fuzzy picture,I did it on the fly.

Cheers.

[GaryD]

Hi BD,

Do you have any solids removal devices on your system? If not, I suggest that you consider installing something. Not only will those fine solids to which you referred consume oxygen in your system, they will irritate your fish' gills.......and they contribute nothing positive.

While the threat of oxygen depletion may not be so great while the temperatures are down, warmer weather and increased feeding will change all of that and put you within range of a fish kill. Barramundi need good clean water with reasonable oxygen levels.

Gary

[bigdaddy]

Hi Gary,

I agree totally,I have been thinking about making a swirl filter from one of those 200 litre drums I have,and situate the swirl filter just above the grow bed at the accesable side toward the back of the grow bed.

I'm not sure how my 6000 litre per hour pump from bunnings will handle the head(probably 2.2 meters) and pressure required but might be worth a try plumbing that in,and maybe, using it as the primary filter,then use the grow bed as the secondary filter.

I really don't know what I'm talking about but am willing to give it a go and see what happens .The height is a bit of a problem for a swirl filtwer to go in after the grow bed.

Having said all that I am certainly willing to listen to other suggestions from yourself and others.

Cheers.

[bigdaddy]

Hi folks,

Good news, the water in the barra tank has cleared,I still think I am going to be making a swirl filter for the system soon.

Cheers.

[Crusty]

Hi mate

Can you give us a general layout of your set up?