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Looking for fingerlings way down south

Hi all,

I am looking to buy some fingerlings. I have tried contacting three different fisheries with no luck, as well as mail order. I'm sure the problem is the small amount I want(50-100). I only have 250 gallons of tank so far, more pond in the future. I am willing to travel, but not sure how far would be safe. I'm thinking about 2-3 hours away from Ft. Myers, FL. Anyone have any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by TCLynx on October 25, 2012 at 8:14pm

What kind of fish?

Florida fish farms (Center Hill FL, be sure to look up their phone number and call them first) packs in Oxygen so you could make several hours of drive home with them and be ok. I believe they are just getting into bluegill season and I get catfish from them regularly. Their minimum order is probably $30-$40 which would probably get you 100 of the smaller fish but you can always ask them to pack less fish in there.

If you want tilapia there are places that will ship or you could drive up to Brooksville, FL to get them, I believe they pack in oxygen too.

Permalink Reply by John E Windsor on October 26, 2012 at 3:02am

Fla. Fish Farm has sold me a 25 channel cats order. That was a $7.50. Good people! It's a good idea to call first, but somebody is always there.

Permalink Reply by Stephen Corbett on October 26, 2012 at 5:34am

http://designcreations2011.com/myakkaaquatics.com/

I have purchased catfish from this guy. He is in the country east of Sarasota. I'm pretty sure he sells Tilapia as well but I don't know about his prices. His catfish were .50 cents @ for 3" fingerlings when I got them a few months ago. He works a regular job as well so you need to arrange a time to meet him usually Saturday mornings.

How far you can travel depends on how big of a transport tank you have and if you can bubble air or oxygen. I use a little 12V bait fish bubbler in a large cooler for 1 to 2 hour trips. Get water for transport from the fish supplier and take your time acclimating them to the new water when you get home. More people have problems from not acclimating carefully than they do with transport IMO.

Permalink Reply by JRComito on October 26, 2012 at 6:24am

TC, I tried calling and emailing them and still no reply. Should I keep trying? I really would like to try the bluegill.

Thanks John for the insight into smaller orders. When is the best time to call?

Stephen, thanks for the link. I'll look into it today.

Thank you all for the quick replies.

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on October 26, 2012 at 7:51am

JR,

Keep calling FL Fish farms. (I've never gotten e-mail back from them ever, their web site has been a bit defunked for years.)

Keep calling. Keep calling. There is usually some one there but they are often not in the office to answer the phone. If you can call first thing in the morning you may be more likely to catch some one in the office. They have just started into Bluegill season so the fingerlings are still very tiny but I expect they should be available regularly here for the next several months.

If you call and get some one who says they are not available this week, find out from them when you should call back again. We called this past Monday morning and went and got some but they didn't have many available yet.

If you have an aerator and a transport container, I could sell some of mine if you wanted to visit my farm anyway, but I don't have oxygen to pack them in. I'm in Yalaha, FL so a bit further away. (7 miles or so east of the Okahumpka Turnpike exit which is just the exit south of where I75 and the turnpike meet.)

Permalink Reply by JRComito on October 28, 2012 at 5:21pm

Thanks so much TC! I would enjoy visiting very much. I will keep the invite in mind. I need to upgrade my pond and then I am going to get serious about fish. I am running 250 gallons with about 5 lbs of fish, big koi and goldfish, in a simple pond insert for now . I want to raise something I can eat, and in a reasonable amount of time. Have you had any luck breeding the bluegill?

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on October 28, 2012 at 6:44pm

I really haven't tried or even researched bluegill breeding at this point. Mine that I've had for about a year and a half have not been breeding as far as I know. They have spent most of their time in a heavily stocked 300 gallon tank. Then when we moved they were in a big tank (1000 gallons) but I'm not sure I would even know if they were breeding since it's one of those dark blue tanks that I can't see into very well.

I know of people who have kept bluegill in a converted swimming pool and I was told that they were breeding.

Permalink Reply by JRComito on October 29, 2012 at 6:56pm

Sounds like one would need a good sized area to breed those guys. I am upgrading, but don't have the room for that type of operation. Looks like I'll just have to grow 'em up good! :-)

Permalink Reply by Nathan William on November 26, 2012 at 1:15pm

Hey JR,

I don't know if you were able to get your fish situation figured out, but I live in the Olrando area (about 3 hrs from Ft.Meyers) and have a bunch of Blue Tilapia available. The last fingerling batch is about 4"-5" by now, so they are just about to start really maturing. I also have tons of Blue tilapia broodstock (6" and higher). Let me know if I am able to help you out.

Permalink Reply by JRComito on November 27, 2012 at 9:55am

Thanks Nathan,

I'll keep that in mind. I still haven't upgraded my pond yet, so it may be a little while. Glad to know about the availability.

Nathan William said:

Hey JR,

I don't know if you were able to get your fish situation figured out, but I live in the Olrando area (about 3 hrs from Ft.Meyers) and have a bunch of Blue Tilapia available. The last fingerling batch is about 4"-5" by now, so they are just about to start really maturing. I also have tons of Blue tilapia broodstock (6" and higher). Let me know if I am able to help you out.

Permalink Reply by JLSimpson on March 8, 2013 at 5:59am

Hi JR, I also live in the fFort Myers FL area and am ready for some Tilapia for my system. Im willing to go half with ya if you want, so no fish are wasted.

Permalink Reply by JRComito on April 5, 2013 at 11:06pm

Hey there,

I haven't been on in a while. Your offer is gracious, and I would enjoy finding some fish soon. I want to get my system up and running again.Where do you plan to get the Tilapia?
JLSimpson said:

Hi JR, I also live in the fFort Myers FL area and am ready for some Tilapia for my system. Im willing to go half with ya if you want, so no fish are wasted.