Any advice on Barramundi?

[DaveOponic]

Hi all,

I am buying some 3 inch Barramundi on Friday. (@ 65 cents each) I have been reading up on Barra farming and it seems they will grow to eating size (500g - 1Kg) in under 12 months. At present my only edible fish are Tilapia and I have had some of these for over a year, so they are almost ready for the BBQ.

I would appreciate any tips on growing Barramundi in an AP system. I am in the hot tropics (Borneo) so there are no issues with temperature etc.

I plan to keep them in a 1000 litre tank without any other species as it would seem they are more prone to disease than Tilapia.

Will post some photos of the babies as soon as they are settled in.

The hatchery is an hour's drive away so will need to have an esky with bubblers ready for the trip.

Dave

[Outbackozzie]

Keep them well fed, or they will snack on each other, and grade them to similar sizes once a month.

[djs-sa]

if u keep the feed up to them u shouldnt have to grade them just expect the runts to vanish, with my experience barra grow quickly and most grow at the same rate except for a few which are runts. if u get a few bigger than the average size then u will have to grade them out to another tank.

If u can feed them at least 3 times per day.

They are a fun fish to feed as they splash water all over u when they are a good size.

[Dufflight]

Look out for the bolters.

[DaveOponic]

Thanks all for advice on Barra fry. I picked them up on Friday and at present they are inside in my small aquarium tank. I got 40 3 inch Barramundi. They call them "Sea Bass" here and the Malay name is "Selungsong".

They sure are a different fish to my Tilapia and Koi fish. They are very lively and alternately like to bunch up and sit together on the bottom of the tank.

The hatchery said to gradually add fresh water to the sea water over 3 - 5 days to adjust them to fresh.

They seem to have a voracious appetite so I can se how they can get to eating size in six months.... and I thought Tilapia were fast growers.

Photos coming soon.

[GaryD]

Hi Dave,

Of the three species that I currently keep.....Jade perch, Murray cod and Barramundi......the Barramundi are the most interesting at feed time. They slap the water as they grab the food.....it's quite noisy at dinner time.

Gary

[DaveOponic]

My Barra are doing very well. I transferred them to the 1000 litre system after a few days in the glass tank to get used to fresh water. They are swimming with the Tilapia and quite happily co-existing. I have Tilapia in the tank from 5 cm through to 1.5Kg monsters almost ready for the frying pan.

We had a week's holiday in Singapore and had a babysitter in to mind the fish.
When I came home they were like Pirahnas when I fed them, slapping the water and leaping above the surface. The Tilapia are copying this behaviour and one large one even leaped right out of the tank. I have only seen this before with Koi.

Barra have some odd habits compared to Tilapia. They like to bunch together, especially at night. Or they cling to the sides of the tank. The Barra are looking very healthy and grow much quicker than Tilapia.

Barra are known here as Sea Bass or Selongsong and are available in the fish markets at about $ 15 per kilo. We bought some recently and deep fried them dipped in flour. Delicious!

[DaveOponic]

Baby Barramundi adjusting to freshwater in the glass tank. Three inches long. I bought 50 fish for $ 30 from the hatchery. The hatchery in Brunei also grows Rostiris prawns and exports fry all over the world.

My Barra are now swimming happily with the Tilapia and growing real fast. So far no problems with cannibalism and they are voracious, noisy eaters. The Tilapis also seem to be copying their eating habits, maybe in an effort to compete for food.

A question for others with Barra .... is it better to feed them with floating or sinking pellets? They seem to prefer to eat the pellets as they are mid water but I found the sinking pellets (uneaten) tended to accumulate on the bottom.

Dave

[djs-sa]

Hi Dave,
I used floating pellets right thru and had no problem with food sitting on the bottom

[DaveOponic]

My Barramundi have almost doubled in size and have mostly changed colour. They are losing their dark stripey markings and most are now a lighter shade of grey/silver.

I have noticed about three that don't seem to have grown much at all and appear very lazy/docile.

The barra sure are an oddball fish. They are now able to recognise me when I am near the tank at feed time and they come to the surface even before I have the food pellets in my hand.

If I put my fingers in the water, they come up and nibble on them but not slap around like they will for food.

The Barra are very easy to net while the Tilapia (in the same tank) will swim away at the speed of light as soon as the net touches the water.