Don This is what Rick Stillwagon says about fish selection:

Reply by Rick Stillwagon on August 31, 2011 at 9:00am

Where we are going is a big one. the direction I wish to go is in an organic and cost effective process that runs and is productive year round. This means greenhouses, r-value, energy, lighting, and feed are primary issues.

Project materials: my goal is to find reliable sources for quality recycled materials: glass, lumber, metal, IBC totes, barrels, etc.

I have been researching fish as well. Yellow perch seem to be popular and a re available in the NW. Catfish, bluegill, Crappie, Sunfish, are others. Some of these dont do too well in high densities though.  I recently bought some Yabbie crayfish from Walmart of all places.  They semm to be doing well so far and growing fast. I will keep you informed on what I have success with and what isnt so great...

 Reply by Rick Stillwagon on August 15, 2011 at 2:28pm

Hi Christina,

I am going to be raising Channel Catfish and probably Yellow perch to start out with. I have a mud pond on my property and have already stocked some in there.  Both are natives here in Washington and readily available. The primary issue is still heat. If the fish arent warm they dont eat and if they dont eat they dont create the waste necessary to feed your plants. They are more forgiving in this area should you have a power outage or some other reason for the water cooling. Trout like cooler, clean water, and need to be watched closely for health issues in high densities.

Hello fellow Pacific Northwesterner!