New Idea

[JamieBailie]

Hello, I was out doing a spot of fishing yesterday and as this is the time of year you see all the fry in the shallows I had an idea, I have an empty 22 UK Gallon which is cycling at the minute, Should be ready shortly.

I'm thinking about getting a few Roach/Rudd and Perch.

Would it be fair to catch a few fry with a net and put them into my spare tank? If so I have a few questions that hope fully someone could help me with:

Am I best catching the smallest fry I can? I'm guessing this would be better for the fish as it will grow up in the tank.

Im thinking of taking some fish food with me next time i'm fishing to see if they seem interested in it, Does anyone here have wild fish in their tank and have you got any advice?

Thats about it for now but i'm sure i'll think of more soon

 

[kirk1]

smaller the better and get few as some will die due to travel and stress
i got 7 fry minnows from my local river for my tank 4 died with in the first week i have got 2 left had them now for 6 moth and are doing very well
roach and rudd will need to go to a pond when to big "or a bigger tank"

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Wild caught fish tend to be more sensitive to water quality conditions than commercially bred fish, so it wouldn't be a wise idea to introduce wild caught fry to a tank which wasn't established. A indoor tank is also going to be warmer than any lake/river/stream etc which could be quite stressful for such coldwater fish.
The fish you are interested in will also easily outgrow the tank in a short period of time, and it wouldn't be fair to realise them back into wild once they are domesticated...Wild caught fish are also more difficult to move onto prepared foods...There are basically a lot of reasons why it isn't adviseable to take such fish from the wild etc, so i wouldn't advise it.

 

[JamieBailie]

Ok guys, Thanks for the info, do you think it would be a good idea to fill some large water drums and use water from the lake for a while and slowly, Say 10% a week put in normal dechlorinated tap water, Would this be best for the fish or not really make a difference. These are going to be the only fish in the tank.
I know that they will outgrow the tank in a year or so, My dad has a pond at his house which already has wild caught fish. So i'm covered if/when that happens.

I've drained the tank and stopped cycling it as i'm not sure when i'm going to do this.

What's the best way to cycle a tank thats going to be used for this?

Thanks

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok guys, Thanks for the info, do you think it would be a good idea to fill some large water drums and use water from the lake for a while and slowly, Say 10% a week put in normal dechlorinated tap water, Would this be best for the fish or not really make a difference. These are going to be the only fish in the tank.
I know that they will outgrow the tank in a year or so, My dad has a pond at his house which already has wild caught fish. So i'm covered if/when that happens.

I've drained the tank and stopped cycling it as i'm not sure when i'm going to do this.

What's the best way to cycle a tank thats going to be used for this?

Thanks

Hm with the lake water thing it wouldn't really make any difference if the ph of the lake was the same as your tanks, but it depends...I would go down and test the lake water to find out more about its type of water quality. Are you going to keeping these water drums indoors or outdoors? How many gallons do they hold roughly?
The best way to cycle the tank would probably be to clone the filter media or do a fishless cycle or both.

 

[JamieBailie]

Wouldn't there be bacteria in the pond water which will be helpful, If my tap water is a different PH than the lake water then surely it would be wise to slowly dilute the lake water with tap water week by week to reduce stress of a PH change, Though when you get fish from the LFS no one seems to worry about PH changes.

I would keep the barrels inside, To keep the same water temp. The size of them isn't important as I have more than enough of them.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Wouldn't there be bacteria in the pond water which will be helpful, If my tap water is a different PH than the lake water then surely it would be wise to slowly dilute the lake water with tap water week by week to reduce stress of a PH change, Though when you get fish from the LFS no one seems to worry about PH changes.

I would keep the barrels inside, To keep the same water temp. The size of them isn't important as I have more than enough of them.

No, the beneficial bacteria primarily lives on surfaces with running water over them, using the lake water itself would not make any real difference as long as it had the same ph and stuff as the water coming out of your taps- you appear not to understand that much on how cycling works, here is a good article on how cycling works;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

.


The size of the barrels is very important, if they don't hold enough gallons then you may not be able to keep the fish in them very happily for very long etc.

 

[JamieBailie]

The fish won't be kept in barrels... Not sure where you got that from.

The tank I have was almost cycled, I wasn't planning to put them in an uncycled tank.

Anyway, This idea is on hold for a while as I can't be bothered at the minute

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The fish won't be kept in barrels... Not sure where you got that from.

The tank I have was almost cycled, I wasn't planning to put them in an uncycled tank.

Anyway, This idea is on hold for a while as I can't be bothered at the minute

Oh whoops i totally mis-read the bit about you filling up some water drums with lake water.
Keep us updated though on your idea .

 

[Imagesz]

i caught a spotted talapia in the canal and put him in my tank and hes doing fine with the flowerhorns and red devils