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Comment by ALM on April 16, 2015 at 9:33am

Greetings!  I just finished cycling my outdoor system in SE Pennsylvania in a greenhouse--an upgrade to a littler system I've been running the past 2 years.  As soon as possible,  I want to add yellow perch to this 400 gal tank (based on what I think the temperatures will be throughout the year)... I'm not exactly sure where I'll buy them--maybe Zett's Fishery, maybe Shultz's Fishery--I'm open to ideas if anybody knows an even closer source.  

But my bigger concern are details on their feed.  I cannot BEAR the thought of a GMO corn and soy based high protein commercial diet as the foundation for my sustainable backyard health food system.  I was thinking, and hoping, I could succeed with some combination of the AquaOrganic pellets (for omnivorous fish apparently), heavily supplemented with dubia roaches, mealworm, BSF larvae, and red wrigglers, maybe minnows and marmokrebs.  I worry this is going to be way too much effort to raise a proper variety of live feed, but I need all the advise I can muster on an appropriate, totally non-GMO diet for these carnivores that won't be so painfully intensive?  I'm clueless as to what a proper ration of this combo diet would be that would give enough nutrients to the fish and plants.

Comment by Tom OBrien on August 18, 2013 at 9:51am

Good luck with it. I had fun growing the first batch of trout even though it wasn't a huge success. With a bigger fish tank and more growing space, you may not have as much trouble with them. Let us know how it goes.

Comment by Blue Hiller on August 17, 2013 at 3:59pm

I have 26 Zipgrow towers right now, and I'm thinking about adding 2x growbeds. I worried about their aggressive behavior but I my choices are slowly getting limited.

Comment by Tom OBrien on August 17, 2013 at 1:26pm

Trout were a challenge for me because I had a 150 gallon tank and limited grow bed space with my indoor system. I think the trout got very territorial in my small tank and growth rates were lowered by that aggressive behavior. You've got twice the tank space and a greenhouse for the grow beds, so you'll probably get better results than I did. A lot of people do very well with trout in their AP systems.

Comment by Blue Hiller on August 17, 2013 at 4:45am

Yes, found that. Thanks. I think the (Maine) Fates are calling me to Rainbow Trout!

Comment by Tom OBrien on August 16, 2013 at 9:56pm

Did you already have this link to the application for pond stocking? They list some trout hatcheries. You could always try growing trout if you don't have your heart set on perch.

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/licenses_permits/pdfs/fishstocking.pdf

Comment by Blue Hiller on August 16, 2013 at 4:49pm

Indeed. Apparently there is a link on their home page for private hatcheries where I can buy. Good news is that they are nice, helpful, and generous with their time in working through the process.

Comment by Keith Rowan on August 16, 2013 at 1:29pm

i was looking for info about getting fish in maine.. looks like it kinda sucks! (sorry)

have you tried contacting the inland fisheries department?

Comment by Blue Hiller on August 16, 2013 at 10:32am

FYI to Maine people: I asked the State Fisheries if I could import YP. See buzz crush reply below.

====

Absolutely not unless they have a clean comprehensive disease testing history for at least the last 3 years (unlikely) at which point you could apply for an importation permit.

Todd
 
Subject: Yellow Perch by mail
 
Todd,  

Is it legal to have Yellow Perch fingerlings shipped into Maine from out of state?  Can I drive them in? There is a farm in PA that raises them.

Comment by Keith Rowan on August 16, 2013 at 6:43am

congrats on the system..

you probably won't have much lucking catching wild fish and transferring them to your system..they'll be pretty difficult to feed train..

do you know anyone with a pond, or know of any ponds in your area?  some areas have "fish trucks" that make seasonal deliveries, and will advertise on craigslist, a good place to check is your county soil and water division..

yellow perch are a very mild sweet tasting fish with white flesh.. they're considered a cool water species and will be ok with temps up to the mid 80's but will start to stress.. trout are a cold water species and won't do very well when the water hits the mid 70's.. both should be fed a high protein fish food

 

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