perch

[brandon key]

Hey guys.  Very new to all this and was wondering if anyone has ever had perch in their system?  If so, will they mix with gold fish and what do you feed them?

[TCLynx]

I believe Philip Wolf has had perch in with goldfish up at We Grow Dreams.

Growing Power and Sweetwater have both used perch in some systems.  I know of some others on other forums who have used perch.  Trick is getting perch that are already pellet trained so you are not struggling to feed them live bugs.

[brandon key]

thanks

[Keith Rowan]

if the perch is big enough, they will eat the goldfish

they are a good candidate to polyculture with bluegill (a study by ohio state showed that the poly culture did better than a single culture)

perch aren't too hard to pellet train,, it took me a couple weeks with my first batch, the second batch i got were already trained..i supplement with minnows/worms/bugs and they don't have a problem going back to pellets

get a good quality gamefish food (silvercup/purina) that is high in protein - at least 42%

[marc anievas]

just wondering how perch would co-exist with tilapia?

also if anyone knows where to get perch  fingerilings?

[TCLynx]

Search for fish farms in your state to see if they are available.  Bluegill and catfish are generally available almost all around the country from fish farms that do pond stocking but other types of fish are sometimes a little more regional.

[brandon key]

How bad would it be on my system if I just got one out of a pond?  My main concern is what that fish brings to my tank.

[Keith Rowan]

if you get "one from a pond" i'd encourage you to give the fish a "seawater strength" salt bath, about 35ppt.. a dip for 20 to 30 seconds should take care of most parasites...

[TCLynx]

Other challenge to a wild caught fish, it might not take well to eating pellets.