Inexpensive Fish for Florida Residents :)

[Kenyon James Hopkins]

I came across this ad on Craigslist for tilapia fingerlings, channel cats, and other fish. The price is the cheapest I've found (100 for $60) and they deliver to most parts of Florida for FREE!! Here is the post:

 

We have fish fingerlings for sale and the prices listed below include delivery to you or your pond.

Blue Tilapia 1 to 2 inches are $60 per hundred.

Channel catfish 3 to 5 inches are $60 per hundred. 5 to 7 inch channel cats are $85.00 per hundred.

Largemouth bass 2 to 3 inches are $85.00 per hundred.

Bluegill and red ear sunfish 1 to 2 inches are $60.00 per hundred.

Gambusia minnows are $75.00 per thousand.

Koi 3 to 5 inches are $5.00 each when you buy 10 or more.

All fish sales are cash on delivery only-no deposit required.
The prices listed include delivery to most areas in Florida.
To place an order or if you have any questions call ...321-696-9554

[Chris Cates]

We picked up 50 bluegill/shellcracker fingerlings for $15.00 from Florida Fish Farms a couple of weeks ago.

[Todd Pitney]

I'm getting a delivery from Shane today. 

His fish are healthy and you can't beat his prices. 

Great guy I highly recommend him.

[Kenyon James Hopkins]

Is Shane the owner of the ad I posted or the guy from Florida Fish Farms that Chris Cates referred to? I only know him as the "Fish Guy".

Todd Pitney said:

I'm getting a delivery from Shane today. 

His fish are healthy and you can't beat his prices. 

Great guy I highly recommend him.

[Todd Pitney]

Shane I believe is the owner of the company who's ad you posted. He's who you get when you call. Great guy and very helpful.

[timothy dillon]

i bought 25 channel cats and 25 bluegills for 15.00 from a hatchery in Hampton fl. the talapia price seems real good though..

[Kenyon James Hopkins]

That is a good price but I don't live anywhere near a Hampton or a hatchery so $60 per hundred seemed like a sweet deal to not have to pay $80 or more for shipping (because they deliver for free) +$2 per fingerling like most people want for them. But for those people that read this and may live in driving range of Hampton, FL please post a link to thier site or contact info so this thread can be helpful to them.

Thanks!

 

[Francesco Patrinicola]

hey timothy do you have an address or a website for the hatchery in Hampton, fl i live  in Jax and i would drive down there when i need it. Im about done building my system (haven't cycled it yet though) and started a research for farms around me.

thanks

Francesco

[timothy dillon]

http://www.shongaloofisheriesinc.com/fish/Welcome.html  Sorry i took so long to answer. i had hand surgery this week and was keyboard for a while. This is the website for shongaloo in Hampton, Fla. I have lost a total of 1 channel cat fingerling since I bought the 25/25 bluegill catfish split in February and he was tiny. They set me up with a delivery closer to my home in S. Sanderson to save me a little drive also. I can't guarantee they will do that but they will work with you if you get with them.

Francesco Patrinicola said:

hey timothy do you have an address or a website for the hatchery in Hampton, fl i live  in Jax and i would drive down there when i need it. Im about done building my system (haven't cycled it yet though) and started a research for farms around me.

thanks

Francesco

[Dan Ponton]

Well, I have been adding natural organic ammonia to my FT over the last few weeks.

I tested my water on Thursday and it showed zero ammonia and zero nitrates with a PH of about 7.5

I just added 15 small feeder gold fish 2 days ago, and plan on adding a few more this week.

I have about 10 planters working ,although all do not have plants in them. 

The plants were in dirt before but seemed to have taken well to the gravel beds. I have to leave town for a few beds ( darn day job) but till get a few more working when I get back.

The barrel in the background contains my pump and contains fiberglass screen material for bio filtering.

Question

Should I wait for a few more weeks before I add cats and bluegill?

[Kenyon James Hopkins]

Looks good. Do you have nitrites? Your post doesn't mention them. I'm not sure you want to put too many more fish in the system until you show nitrites and then its decline with some nitrates present to ensure you have all the bacteria in place particularly since you won't be around for a few days to monitor they system.

[Dan Ponton]

no ammonia or nitrites.... so you think maybe it has not showed up yet?

I am using feeder golldfish which costs 13 cents each just in case.

 

 Kenyon James Hopkins said:

Looks good. Do you have nitrites? Your post doesn't mention them. I'm not sure you want to put too many more fish in the system until you show nitrites and then its decline with some nitrates present to ensure you have all the bacteria in place particularly since you won't be around for a few days to monitor they system.

[Kenyon James Hopkins]

With as many gallons you have and only 15 goldfish to produce ammonia it may take a while. You can speed up the process by adding pure ammonia from the cleaning isle. Make sure it doesn't have any detergents, just pure ammonia. You can also add your own urine to it if you like. It works, but the thought of it bothers some people. I have a 700 gallon FT that I started to cycle with a few minnows I caught in the lake behind my house. 1 week later my 205 tilapia arrived and within a week I had ammonia levels at 7, nitrites at 7 and no nitrates. 3 weeks later I'm still doing water exchanges daily. My ammonia zero'd after a week and after 2 more weeks I still have nitrites around 6-7 and nitrates topping 100-150 depending on the day. I broke down and have been giving the fish a little bit of food each day because they went almost 2 weeks with none because the levels were so high. Fortunately I have only lost 1 fish 2 days after they arrived and one more found its way into my pump.

So, my advice is to take it easy before adding a bunch of fish that you don't want to kill. Find an ammonia source without using too many fish.