fish for farm dams Archives - Fish For Farm Dams

Caring For Fish in Farm Dams

admin — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 04:53:22 +0000

Coming soon!

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Best Fish For Farm Dams

admin — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 04:39:29 +0000

Selecting the best fish for your farm dam will depend on many factors, including the size of your dam, the depth of your dam, and your personal preference regarding why you want to farm fish in the first place.

If you will be using a dam or dams that you already have on your property, then perhaps the type of fish you select will be determined by whether you are prepared to alter the dam to suit the fish or would like to find suitable fish that will thrive in your current dam with minimum adjustments.

Either way, we cover various fish in this, mostly those species that are readily available for stocking dams in New South Wales and Victoria. However, the sections we cover on habitat can be applied to just about any freshwater fish species worldwide. Therefore, if the species of fish you are interested in is not covered here, we suggest you do your own research to ensure your preference will be suitable for the environment you are bringing it into. Further, you also want to make sure your preference is a legal option for you.

The fish that we recommend, which are the most common species used to stock dams, include Silver Perch, Golden Perch, Murray Cod, Eel-tail Catfish and Rainbow Trout. I will cover each of these briefly below, however you can find out more about these species in my book, "Fish For Farm Dams".

Silver Perch - Bidyanas bidyanus

Silver Perch are a medium-sized species which are endemic to the water ways in south-eastern Australia. They are a hardy fish, and are the only omnivorous species that we cover here. Omnivorous means that, like humans, they eat both plants and animals. These fish can therefore be useful in cleaning up weeds in your dams; and they are also less likely to consume their own young.

Silver Perch would be ideal for you if you have a small dam, or if building your dam, don't intend on developing a very large dam for the purpose of fish farming. They can handle a fair range of cold and warm temperatures, and live to about 20 years in age, usually ready for fishing and eating after around 2 years.

Please be aware that Silver Perch are listed as a vulnerable fish species, and it is therefore illegal to take them from any river or stream in the Murray-Darling Basin. However, they are readily available to purchase from privately stocked dams.

Golden Perch - Macquaria ambigua

Golden Perch is also commonly known as Yellow Belly. The the picture above does not demonstrate the lovely yellow that tends to show up on these delicious, fresh water fish, the intensity of the yellow of which is dependent on the environment and turbidity of the waters they reside in.

When looking at a Golden Perch, you will notice that they have a slightly protruding lower jaw, a distinctive curve to the forehead and a hump just above the head that becomes more noticeable with age.

Known to be very tolerant fish, like it's relative, the Silver Perch, they can handle a fair range of cold and warm temperatures, and also higher salinity of the water. They can live for up to 25 years, and ready to start eating after about 2 years.

Golden Perch are popular fish among anglers due to them being a strong, hard-striking fighting fish.

Murray Cod - Maccullochella peelii

Murray Cod is the largest fresh water fish in Australia, and among the largest in the world, naturally found in the Murray-Darling river system. Due to their large size, you will need a good-sized dam if you would like them to reach their potential. The largest on record grew to 1.8m and 113kg in weight!

This is a fish with a long life span, with the oldest documented at 48 years old, although there is belief that they can live longer than that. These spectacular fish are predatory, and will eat almost anything smaller than themselves, so it is NOT recommended that you mix them with other fish. Murray Cod can be eaten at the 2 year mark and beyond, just like perch.

Murray Cod are exciting to catch due to their aggressiveness and sheer weight and size.

Eel-tail Catfish - Tandanus tandanus

By fir0002flagstaffotos [at] gmail.comCanon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1240536

The Eel-tail Catfish is another freshwater fish native to the Murray-Darling river system of eastern Australia, and is also commonly known as dewfish, jewfish, tandan (their aboriginal name) and freshwater catfish. Don't let their strange appearance put you off, Eel-tailed Catfish are quality tasting and are even considered by some to be the finest freshwater fish of all to eat.

Eel-tail Catfish live up to about 8-10 years old and on average weigh up to 1.8kg although some reports have seen them grow to 6kg. This is a fish that is very tough and can survive in shallower dams and are the only species I can guarantee that they will breed in farm dams, so long as they have adequate nesting materials available.

One thing you will need to be mindful about with Eel-tailed Catfish is when handling the fish or swimming in a dam stocked with these fish, is that they have sharp serrated dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines which are venomous and can deliver a rather painful sting, which I can share first hand is not a pleasant experience! They do, however, usually try their best to avoid human contact.

Rainbow Trout - Oncorychus mykis

Rainbow Trout are a magnificently coloured and highly desired sporting fish that are known for leaping out of the water when hooked. Although not an Australian native (they are from Asia and North America), Rainbow Trout are still a fabulous fish for stocking in dams in Australia.

These fish do not reproduce in dams and have a much shorter life span than other species (approx. 5 years); however, they are by far the quickest growing fish you will come across, reaching edible sizes well within the first year of growth. They do prefer colder temperatures though, so need to be stocked in deeper dams so they can get down low where it is cooler, especially in warmer climates.

Rainbow Trout are a very popular fish for growing in farm dams as well as backyard aquaponics systems, especially because of their excellent growth rates allowing you to catch them and eat them much sooner than other recommended fish for farm dams.

Summary

Before selecting your fish, you may want to first look at the dam you are looking to grow your fish in and then select fish that are suitable for stocking in that dam. Otherwise, if you're starting from scratch you can select your preferred fish and then create the dam that is required for the success of that type of fish.

Here is a brief summary of the highlights of each of these fish to help you with your decision making:

- Murray Cod and Golden Perch are a larger, more aggressive fish that are more exciting to catch, and provide more meat for eating.

- Silver Perch are an excellent and popular fish to grow in small farm dams as they are a smaller fish and don't require so much space. These fish are also not aggressive and will eat vegetation in your dam and less likely to devour their young.

- Eel-tailed Catfish are great eating and easy for breeding and growing in smaller, shallower dams.

- Rainbow Trout are pretty fish, fun to feed and catch, and fast growing so can be eaten within their first year.

Good luck with choosing the right fish for you and your family for growing in your farm dam. If you would like more information, check out our book, "Fish For Farm Dams".

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Farm Dam Set Up For Fish

admin — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 01:50:02 +0000

Dam size, depth and creating the right habitat are important aspects of setting up a fish farm on your property. It may be that you already have a dam you'd like to use or you need to create a new dam based on your needs. Either way, all aspects needs to be looked at.

One of the most important things you need to consider though, is the type of fish you'd like to stock in your dam, because different fish not only like but require, different environments.

Dam Size

As a rule of thumb, a dam of at least 1000 metres squared (1/4 acre) or that has a circumference of 100-120m is required for farming fish in Australia. You should keep in mind, however, that this size is what is considered to be on the smaller side for farming fish, so we definitely don't recommend dams smaller than this for stocking fish. Further, this sized dam is only really suitable for farming Silver Perch, as they tend to do well in smaller dams, being a fish that naturally like to school up and are able to feed on both small aquatic organisms as well as plant matter.

Other types of fish generally require a larger space to develop in, as they are carnivorous and therefore need the extra space to flourish. If they do not have this, they may end up devouring the smaller fish in the school and deplete the profits of the operation.

Dam Depth

The depth of your dam is important when you need to consider the temperature that your selected fish requires to survive and thrive. Fish that need lower temperatures require deeper dams, and fish that can handle or prefer warmer climates don't require a particularly deep dam to do well. The Eel-tailed catfish is a good example of a fish that is very hardy and can survive in considerably shallow waters compared with other native fish of their size. On the other hand, Rainbow Trout are a cold water species, preferring temperatures between 5-20 degrees celsius and as such, require much deeper dams so they have the ability to get down low into the depths where it is cooler.

Dam Habitat

Creating a suitable habitat for your fish in your dam is essential for successful fish farming for the following reasons:

Better survival rates for your fish
Creating nursery areas to encourage reproduction
Increasing biodiversity
Increasing food availability
Increasing growth rates
Ensuring healthy and thriving fish
Hours of fun for friends and family
Growing fresh, quality fish at your fingertips
Saving you money
Becoming happy and proud fish owners

Apart from the above really important points, a major pupose of building habitat in your dam is to provide a place for your fish to hide, feel safe and secure and reduce stress on your fish. Habitat can protect your fish from underwater predators as well as help prevent aerial assault from hunting birds; so protecting them from these dangers will increase their survivability.

Materials you can use to create habitat for your fish are numerous, and likely you will already have sufficient items on-hand on our farm in abundance. These can include logs, granches, weedy thickets, old fencing, wire, pipes, hoses, crates, old drums, pallets and other farmyard scrap.

When building the habitat, the best method is to gather your materials and stack them up in a large pile around the edge of your dam underwater. This bests emulates the type of cover that naturally occurs in the wild and where fish usually dwell. Items to avoid using include old tyres and old netting.

Aquaponics

For those who are interested in growing their own fish but don't have the space for the required dams, aquaponics is the ideal option, which can be implemented in most backyards. Aquaponics as the benefit of combining two technologies - Aquiculture (raising aquatic animals in tanks) and Hydroponics (cultivating plants in fish water). This harmonious cycle is wonderfully sustainable as it allows the fish waste to be recycled to be used as highly nutritious plant food, enabling the growth of your own flavoursome, nutrient-packed herbs and vegetables AS WELL AS a crop of tasty, fresh fish, all sharing the same body of water. This therefore has the added benefit of immensely conserving water since it is being recycled and only needs a periodic top-up; whereas in comparison, traditional gardening uses TWENTY TIMES the amount of water required for aquaponics systems (Zip Grow).

WANT TO KNOW MORE? BUY THE BOOK, "FISH FOR FARM DAMS" NOW

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