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Fish Farming out of a regular fish tank

7K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  NoTea4U 
#1 ·
I have been reading a lot on fish farming on the small scale and came across this website...

http://survivalplus.com/foods/RAISING-CATFISH-IN-A-BARREL.htm

In this case people raised 40 catfish in this 55 gallon barel.

I was wondering if there was anyway for me to raise fish (for eating purposes) in an aquarium type tank without having to transfer the fish at all.

I go to college in Rhode Island and live (when i'm not at college) in Connecticut. My dad has agreed to feed the fish when necessary but that is it.

Would this be possible for the fish to grow from when they hatch to when they are going to be eaten in one tank without having to siphon water off or transfer the fish.

I am willing to buy a filter, air pump, etc to make this necessary
 
#2 ·
Thank you for the link and discussing something I've wondered about...

I've heard a story years ago, one guy caught a small trout and brought it back live, intending to eat it until his brother-in-law, or buddy gave him some Heck about that small fish, so he supposedly put it in his kid's BIG tank, and although it ate the fish in there, it eventually got big enough to eat. I asked about the water being too warm, but I guess it supposedly happened.

Many, many years ago, when we visited Greece, we went to a resturant that had a series of long tanks running down the middle of the room. I was a kid, so everything was BIG, and I do remember it was salt water as the resturant was right on the water and they actually walked you over and you picked your fish, and they netted it and put in in a tank on a cart and walked it in the back...where my father said they likely had another big tank of fish, where they dumped the one you picked, and they'd instead get some market fish from the fridge.

I've wondered about this too...finishing off the fish, getting them just a bit bigger, or having them around until you wanted them.
 
#3 ·
That many catfish in a 55 gallon drum is stupid. To properly grow a quantity of fish and have them grow to a decent size, I would go with a 500 or 1000 gallon tank (for a family of 4). You can build one (there are plans on the internet for doing it), but personally, I would use a 1000 cement tank (can buy them at places that sell septic systems).


Have them put a drain at the bottom (to do a 25% drain from time to time). You can also use a cheap above ground swimming pool filter to help with circulation. Instead of all sand, add charcoal to help remove toxins in the water. Aeration is important, so use the return water to do that or use a $15 aerator pump from Academy to pump air in.

Keep in mind, if you grow more fish than you can eat, you can feed them to your dogs & cats. They also make great fertilizer, bait for traps, fish bait, etc. etc.
 
#7 ·
That many catfish in a 55 gallon drum is stupid. To properly grow a quantity of fish and have them grow to a decent size, I would go with a 500 or 1000 gallon tank (for a family of 4). You can build one (there are plans on the internet for doing it), but personally, I would use a 1000 cement tank (can buy them at places that sell septic systems).


Have them put a drain at the bottom (to do a 25% drain from time to time). You can also use a cheap above ground swimming pool filter to help with circulation. Instead of all sand, add charcoal to help remove toxins in the water. Aeration is important, so use the return water to do that or use a $15 aerator pump from Academy to pump air in.
Charcoal just works for so long. and , like in a home aquarium is pretty useless. For the needs of a tank and it's mechanical and Biological filtration. (I didn't mention chemical because you don't need them. It's not salt. And you won't get anymore once TSHTF anyway.

The pool filter is a good idea, but I would run it through a homemade mechanical filter first (look at youtube for building pond filters) stuffed w/ lots of larger celled pads for big stuff, and the pool filter with w/ simple scuffing pads for finer detritus removal at the top and a lower layer bioball filter (once again home made)http://www.ehow.com/how_7634360_homemade-bio-balls-filter-media.html

This will eventually begin cycle of breaking down the waste and ammonia into nitrites and nitrates. Change 25% of the water out weekly. I would do talapia, but ONE drum? That's a lot of fish. I am at max bioload for my 110 FW tank w/ maybe 40 in. of fish. I could squeeze in another ten if I hit it every week w/ changes and I have GOOD filtration .

2-4 ft polls 10-15ft across are under a few hundred $$$$. Why not use that?
 
#8 ·
If you are looking to go that big maybe you should look into "aquaponics".
It is not the same as hydroponics. The fish waste produces fertilizer.
The plants in the system remove the waste. If managed properly anyway.
I do not have a system and am not an expert on it. But I want one...
 
#10 ·
There are significant considerations with aquaponics, electric to run air and water pumps. I have read and seen pics of systems where the aeration was accomplished thru the water return system (small holes in the pipe to spray the water back into the holding tank) and feeding the fish (spring thru fall) by placing a light above the tank... bugs fly in, fall into the water. Also, since worms can be grown directly in rabbit droppings you can feed the fish the worms. If you have the rabbits.
Again, there are a number of issues but there are some reasonable options for the creative mind. You don't need a big system to grow the vegetables, which I think is the big benefit. The fish are a bonus.
 
#11 ·
Also with aquaponics, its takes a lot of maintaining of the system. Everything needs to be perfectly balanced. If something is thrown off, your fish and food will quickly die.

On an episode of doomsday preppers (i know, i know), one guy was all about aquaponics. He raised some algae thing and used that as food for his fish. Just an idea if your considering it.
 
#12 ·
My kids had a 55 gallon aquarium in our living room. When we first acquired, we had no fish and so they brought minnows back from a fishing trip. They were rainbows and whitefish, all of about the same size when we started. All looked healthy. We also had a few crawfish in the tank.

Within a few months, the rainbows outgrew the whitefish, ate them, outgrew the crawfish, ate them too, and we had only rainbows left. Were were using pellets and the fish were happy, but they developed fin rot and ich in the warm water. A bit of antibiotics later and we were back in business.

We went on with the experiment for a few more months, but the cost of filtering the water, providing feed, and the work (because my kids lost interest) put an end to it. I wouldn't recommend a repeat attempt to anyone. Sorry for bursting your bubble, but I think aquaponics would be a much more productive approach. The aquarium attempt sucked.
 
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