First Fish Harvest, June 2020
I stocked my fish tank rather heavily last September and November. Based on my design, I can handle roughly 35 fish weighing about 2 pounds max. However, as I bought fingerlings, I overbought, figuring I would lose some throughout the growing time due to occasional issues or just it happens.
The past month, I had noticed the water quality was cloudy and I knew it had been getting worse, but this was really bad. I tried to use some type of netting (mesh bags) to catch whatever solids might be leaving the plant grow bed and going back into the fish tank. This seemed to be working and the water appeared to be clearing up but not like I thought it should. I did not keep accurate records for fish losses and having blue gill and channel catfish in tank, I figured they would have different growth rates and so maybe, I would be okay. Well, over the past few days, the mesh bags were filling up rather quickly and then they started to fill up within a few hours. I realized that it was time to harvest some fish.
I tried catching a fish and it was exciting, however, I needed to catch the catfish and it was a blue gill. My fishing line was not strong enough to keep a catfish on it and also, I figured it would take days to catch a lot of catfish. So, I decided to drain the tank and net the fish I wanted.
Draining the tank was actually pretty easy. I turned the pumps on and let the water be pumped out--so the water did not return back to the fish tank but to the floor of the green house.
However, 400+ gallons of water was a lot of water and it took time for it to be drained down. The green house floor is brick pavers on a sand base, so water will drain easily. However, I did have a puddle for a bit. My electrical stuff was safe so I was fine.
Draining the tank took over 30 minutes and as soon as I could see bottom, I saw part of my problem. These big catfish had dislodged the pvc plumbing AGAIN--i cannot tell you how many times this has occurred. Here are some pictures of the catfish and blue gill that were in the tank. I drained enough water such that the big fish had exposed top fins.
Time to net some fish. It took me about an hour to catch almost all of the catfish. I left two in the system as 1. I was tired 2. catfish in my system are like canaries in the mines--they let me know pretty quickly if I have a problem in the system.
I had researched ways to kill fish and I really wanted to do it humanely, however, I had way too many fish to do. I chose to put ice in my cooler and let the fish die in that. I wound up netting 24 fish and so this was the best method for me.
As I waited for the fish to die, I began to fill the tank back up. As I use city water, I had to treat the water and allow it to sit for a bit before it was introduced into the fish tank. This process is slow, but efficient. So, I fill the plant grow bed up, allow the water to sit in it, along with a treatment of vitamin C. Then I turn the pumps on to circulate the water. The blower also came back on too--the fish were stressed and gasping a little bit.
Well, it was time to start filleting the fish--I had procrastinated enough. I will admit that I was not looking forward to this task, however, I had not started this endeavor planning on having pet fish. So. . . I had hoped to weigh and measure each fish, but I had so many and the task seemed so daunting that I only weighed/measured 3. Over all I had 24 fish to deal with and it seemed that the average weight was about 1.5 pounds. I figured that was a pretty decent haul.
The past month, I had noticed the water quality was cloudy and I knew it had been getting worse, but this was really bad. I tried to use some type of netting (mesh bags) to catch whatever solids might be leaving the plant grow bed and going back into the fish tank. This seemed to be working and the water appeared to be clearing up but not like I thought it should. I did not keep accurate records for fish losses and having blue gill and channel catfish in tank, I figured they would have different growth rates and so maybe, I would be okay. Well, over the past few days, the mesh bags were filling up rather quickly and then they started to fill up within a few hours. I realized that it was time to harvest some fish.
I tried catching a fish and it was exciting, however, I needed to catch the catfish and it was a blue gill. My fishing line was not strong enough to keep a catfish on it and also, I figured it would take days to catch a lot of catfish. So, I decided to drain the tank and net the fish I wanted.
Draining the tank was actually pretty easy. I turned the pumps on and let the water be pumped out--so the water did not return back to the fish tank but to the floor of the green house.
However, 400+ gallons of water was a lot of water and it took time for it to be drained down. The green house floor is brick pavers on a sand base, so water will drain easily. However, I did have a puddle for a bit. My electrical stuff was safe so I was fine.
Draining the tank took over 30 minutes and as soon as I could see bottom, I saw part of my problem. These big catfish had dislodged the pvc plumbing AGAIN--i cannot tell you how many times this has occurred. Here are some pictures of the catfish and blue gill that were in the tank. I drained enough water such that the big fish had exposed top fins.
Time to net some fish. It took me about an hour to catch almost all of the catfish. I left two in the system as 1. I was tired 2. catfish in my system are like canaries in the mines--they let me know pretty quickly if I have a problem in the system.
I had researched ways to kill fish and I really wanted to do it humanely, however, I had way too many fish to do. I chose to put ice in my cooler and let the fish die in that. I wound up netting 24 fish and so this was the best method for me.
As I waited for the fish to die, I began to fill the tank back up. As I use city water, I had to treat the water and allow it to sit for a bit before it was introduced into the fish tank. This process is slow, but efficient. So, I fill the plant grow bed up, allow the water to sit in it, along with a treatment of vitamin C. Then I turn the pumps on to circulate the water. The blower also came back on too--the fish were stressed and gasping a little bit.
Well, it was time to start filleting the fish--I had procrastinated enough. I will admit that I was not looking forward to this task, however, I had not started this endeavor planning on having pet fish. So. . . I had hoped to weigh and measure each fish, but I had so many and the task seemed so daunting that I only weighed/measured 3. Over all I had 24 fish to deal with and it seemed that the average weight was about 1.5 pounds. I figured that was a pretty decent haul.
This was my first fish to deal with. I was totally grossed up but I did it. I wore the protective gloves so the fish barbs would not hurt me nor would I hurt myself using that very sharp filet knive. I did not deskin the fish, nor debone them. I will try learning that at another time. It took me from 7 am to 1pm to take care of the harvest and get most of the mess tidied up. I rinsed the fish and put them in ziplocs and into the freezer. I am so not ready to eat my kill. But I will eventually do so. I set about reattaching the pvc piping and getting the tank back to running. Here is a picture of the guys who are left. This is a good amount of fish and should grow just fine. Due to covid 19, Southeast Pond Restocking is not doing its normal fish deliveries. So, hopefully the survivors will be fine and grow and my plants will thrive. In about 3 months, these fish might be ready for harvesting which hopefully will coincide with fish deliveries being restarted.
I took a picture of me before I started this task--I showered just in case I might need to call the EMTs or go to the ER.
This is a picture of me after 6 hours of work. I am tired, smell like fish and hard work.
I have showered and napped and washed my hands enumerable times since and yet, they still smell like fish! I hope to get the fish tank filled about half way tonight and then tomorrow I shall continue filling it and getting it back on track. The water is crystal clear--what a difference. I really had way too many fish in the system for way too long. I think I got lucky that all had survived in those conditions.
I will fill in the gaps between last blog post and today--as I do have information for anyone starting out doing aquaponics.
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