Anybody raised fish for food?

[RogueAPBT]

I'm not ready for this project, but curious if anyone has tried this in the city or on a small lot?

Cheryl

[gardengirl72]

I have, but I can do much better. I didn't do it this year, but will hopefully get something going for next year.

It isn't hard, once you have the ponds or tanks.

[RogueAPBT]

I'll have to research what can be done in my area (pacific nw). I've seen the catfish in a barrel one, but I think it might be too cool for them here. I'm not sure what the options are here. Wish you could just stick salmon in a barrel, lol.

[plantoneonme]

I haven't gotten that far yet as I would prefer some type of birds first...probably the quail we have been discussing. Anyway here is a site that has a set up that can give you some ideas. Here is what he calculates his production to be.

"According to my calculations I should be able to produce 15kg of yabbies, 30kg of fish and vegetables exceeding 100kg in 6 months within the 15sqm, without any inputs apart from electricity. I work on 6 month periods because thats over spring/summer, in Queensland you could repeat similar outputs over the following 6 months as well" (not sure what a yabbie is)

He also states that the system is completely self sufficient except electricity in that the fish feed the plants, plants filter and clean the water and then plants, worms etc feed the fish.

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/20878

[gardengirl72]

Start with birds, they are the easiest livestock, other than rabbits of course. Queensland huh? Wow that is cool. I'd love to see your homestead.

[groundhogpeggy]

I'm thinking of trying fish in the back yard by next summer.

I was thinking using the same type as what people catch locally, assuming they would thrive in our area, with our local bugs, weather conditions, etc., rather than transporting something "alien" to our geography, such as tilapia, etc.

Catfish is the first thing that comes to my mind. Bass or bluegill might work too. I'm planning on spending the winter planning how to go about trying this for the first time ever... have a very small yard to work with, inhabited by one lonely rex rabbit (former house rabbit who was on the verge of homelessness, and we let him come to live on his own in our fenced in yard... he mostly takes care of himself, I just supply fresh water and a peach or apple every day... got him in the spring, so I guess I'll have to get him some hay once winter sets in), and I plan to add egg-laying hens in another few months.

I would love to be able to build some sort of aquaponic system I could use in the yard during the warm months of the year for fish and veggies.

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

I know I should be sticking with chicken advice... and this probably won't apply to most folks constructing a pond in the suburbs...

BUT, if you have enough land to dig an earthen pond, your fish and game commission may stock it FREE. Here in my neck of the woods, they do just that and only for a new pond.

The catch is, (no pun intended)... you need to allow others to fish in it free for a few years. However, no one ever seems to show up for that purpose.

Just food for thought. Also, your fish and game resource management folks will tell you what you can and cannot have in your pond. Here for example, gold fish are illegal if your pond is part of any water shed system? Again, in the city limits, you're completely different I suppose.

You mentioned catfish and even other predator fishes? The norm is to start with minnows, then say something like bluegill and then bass... in a small pond, one visit from a heron can finish your frogs and fishes.

Just some food for thought... my pond is 125 feet across, 14 feet deep and the fish population is thriving and we never feed them... it's a continuous chain....minnows.... to golden shiners... to bluegill and so on... each is fed by the other.

[groundhogpeggy]

The State of KY does the same thing... will stock a pond if you open it up to public fishing.

We don't have the space right now for a real pond, though, so, for me, I'm thinking a large tank... to me it sounds reasonable to make the tank a "pond-like" thing, building it underground, like a reflection pool that people put in their yards.

I remember in the 70s people raised catfish in barrels, 55-gallon drums, out in their backyard... I mean, I didn't personally know anyone doing that, because where I lived at the time we could all just step outside and fish from about 20 ft. off our back porches and catch catfish out of the Cumberland River... but I did hear that people were raising catfish like that.

I would think some type of pool/tank/itty-bitty pond built into the ground should be able to sustain more fish than a 55-gallon drum... but I don't really know. I do plan to try... loooking for any kind of helpful ideas and experience anyone has to share... if catfish won't work... I'd be happy enough with bluegill.

Sounds like a good idea, Fred, to stock it with minnows as well, so the job of feeding the fish is mostly under control.

[gardengirl72]

If you lived in a area that didn't fully freeze, you could have shallow pools, made with kiddie pools that would be great with blue gill. I love pan fish and in warm climates grow really fast.

[groundhogpeggy]

It gets cold here in the winter, too cold, I'm sure, for a shallow pond.

But I'm wondering if I could just keep the pond, and fish, during spring/summer and then be done with it for the cold months... maybe it would be more trouble than it's worth to stock it again every springtime... I don't know.

In my thinking, for now, just a summer edible fish pond would be okay with me until I can get something more permanent going/or something heated or whatever.

I haven't looked into this much at all yet, so I don't even know where to buy the fish or if you can even buy such a small amount, or whether it would be worth it to just have them one season, etc. If I had something that I could keep going all winter, I'd be happy to go fishing... catch enough bluegill to hope I got the right mix to start up a bluegill community on my own...

I was also wondering why you couldn't have some sort of salt water setup and grow your own shrimp or something... do I just dream too big, or does anyone know if these ideas are at all plausible??????

All I know is I would love to spend my retirement producing most of our food, if possible/ however possible!

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

The fish you will want to eat, are often years old prior to being at any meaningful harvest weight... so, an annual crop probably won't work out on the scale you are talking about.

When you go to a fish hatchery, they are sold by the pound. I recommend that you visit one in your area. You will get a better understanding of what a six month old fish as compared to a three year old fish, looks like.

When you purchase the larger (breeding age) fishes, you pay a premium for them and there goes your food budget (assuming you have one).

Let's talk about the "fish in a barrel" issue;
If you raise any fish, it's the surface area of your tank, barrel, kiddie pool or even pond, which allows the meaning ful exchange of off gassing and oxygen refreshment.

So, a barrel of fish would be extremely limited in it's overall capacity. This is why you see agitators and bubble lifts in use to move the water from the bottom to the surface. The surface is where it all happens. So, for fish health, broad and shallow is better than deep and narrow. Someone will say, just add plants, as aquatic plants add oxygen and the fish provide CO2 that the plants need? True, but only during daylight, at night, the plants are also consumers and do compete with your fish for resources.

Salt water systems.. for shrimp and so on, require lots of size, plenty of water movement and the initial investment in water is no laughing matter... synthetic sea salts like Instant Ocean are part of the normal start up in any closed aquairum system. Salt water from the sea, has things in it you don't want to start off with.

I liked Patti's system, where she was circulating water for aquaculture (fishes) and hydroponics (plants) so they can benefit from one another? But this can become very complex and keeping your fish alive long enough to produce food for your table? In the small yard system, I think the odds are against you. Shallow, small bodies of water, are capable of rapid chemical change and you don't often have time to rescue or alter the system before you suffer a die off or rapid chemical inbalance...

Water is fun and a few fish will be nice to have around the garden.... for fish to survive the winter, you probably need 18-24 inches of depth at a minimum... if you are in one of the States which gets snow.

Ok, that's all I have to say about that... good luck!

[gardengirl72]

The problem is, that it takes a good two to three seasons to raise them to a decently harvestable weight.

Fish are easy to buy. The Hogzilla fish farm has a hybrid Blue gill that grows really fast, like the rock x that we raise for meat. Poor freaks of nature though.

Check out backyardaquaponics.com (i think). That is the system I am working on.

[groundhogpeggy]

Well, sounds like there are many fishy complications to consider:eek:... maybe it might be a better idea to start out if we just get the old (unused for years now) fishing gear together and fixed up again for spring... lol... sounds like it might be easier to run to one of the numerous local lakes/rivers that are good for fishing and just make the time for that.

With retirement weeks away, and then a whole winter to read up, watch videos, and think things through, I'll come up with some sort of plan by the springtime!

I'll also be busy reading up on chickens (I know a lot more about them through previous experience), hydroponics if not aquaponics if I can make that work, and other plausible gardening ventures given our current living circumstances. We might be moving to a more rural area (more space/land) once hubby gets retired too, but that's still a few years away.

I'm really excited to get out of the office (after 20 yrs. under flourescent lights - poor substitute for sunshine!!!) and get some of these projects under way!

[Kevin]

I haven't gotten that far yet as I would prefer some type of birds first...probably the quail we have been discussing. Anyway here is a site that has a set up that can give you some ideas. Here is what he calculates his production to be.

"According to my calculations I should be able to produce 15kg of yabbies, 30kg of fish and vegetables exceeding 100kg in 6 months within the 15sqm, without any inputs apart from electricity. I work on 6 month periods because thats over spring/summer, in Queensland you could repeat similar outputs over the following 6 months as well" (not sure what a yabbie is)

He also states that the system is completely self sufficient except electricity in that the fish feed the plants, plants filter and clean the water and then plants, worms etc feed the fish.

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/20878

A yabbie is a fresh water prawn This site is Exactly what I have been looking for. I can't thank you enough. I will be ordering this mans book this week . YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY.

[Brewguy]

I've been looking into this as well. I'm in PA and while it gets cold it normally is not below zero. My understanding is you can grow them in small pools inside a green house. You have to ensure the water stays above 60*, for tilapia. Also the Tilapia are said to grow very fast and are very productive.

In the four season harvest book he said green house temps can hit 70's when the sun is out and the air is around freezing. I figure I would need some sort of extra heat.

I found a guy in florida that sells breeding sets, the resulting offspring are 98% male and they have 100 or more at a time. I thought he said in one year they will hit 2 pounds.
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