Keeping Fish

[LeafBlade12345]

We finally got a privately owned pet store in our area and when...and if..I buy aquarium fish I would rather do business with them.

But most of the fish I buy anymore I buy from a place that stocks ponds.  Last year I bought 100 bluegill, 100 red ear sunfish, and 350 channel catfish.

It averaged out to about 45 to 50 dollars a hundred.I haven't had a dead fish in months and soon...as mentioned before I will harvest my meals from there.

Five pounds of catfish fillets go for 30 dollars at the local CO-OP. I should harvest over 400 pounds of live catfish from my ponds. They are small above ground ponds.

I have found that my catfish thrive on neglect. I just feed them.

I wish I too had the time and space to raise fish for meat...

 

[Shellybean02]

This afternoon:

Orlando now:

Monroe now:

 

[Shellybean02]

I can't say much about the behavior of my boys, as they seem active one moment and wasted the next. Orlando(multicolored rosetail) sometimes blows bubbles from his gills when he breathes at the surface. Do Monroe's gills seem to have lost color?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Bettas have bursts of energy, then times of rest, a sick betta will sit on the bottom only moving to take a breath at the surface. They can't keep moving all day, they look fine and pretty.

 

[Shellybean02]

I'm just curious(for the good of knowledge and my fish), what does it mean that Monroe's gills aren't black anymore/air bubbles come from Orlando's gills?

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Shelly, how big are those breeder boxes?

Regards,
Leaf

 

[AxolotlLove]

I have had 3 betas at a time (2 passed ) and it really doesn't bother them that much if they can see each other. Just make sure they're tanks are far enough away. And please, don't put a beta fish in a tiny bowl. They actually enjoy swimming!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

@Shellybean02 - the first suggestion I would make as you are concerned about the well-being of your fish and are wishing to endeavor on a long-term breeding project, is to rethink your housing plan. The breeder box you are using to house the males pictured is not suitable as a long-term housing unit for them as it is insufficient in space and the nature of the box also makes it very difficult to maintain any sort of healthy water quality within the box itself (have used them as short term isolation units, "catcher" units, etc in my years of keeping). I would suggest you invest in a few 5 gallon tanks - very inexpensive, lend themselves well to being lined up next to each other in a small space (you can place them next to each other with a short side facing out and even paint the facing walls black or simply slide a paper between them if you want to reduce the interaction of males through the "walls") and each will provide one of your males a very nice living quarter in which he will have space to swim about and it will better enable the control of water quality.

 

[Shellybean02]

Wouldn't that require more filters/heaters/water etc.? I'm not sure if I'm really ready for that kind of upgrade just yet. There are slits on the sides of the box(for lack of a better word), which should let the water quality remain pretty much the same without the flow from the filter. I also use a syringe with water(not a needle one) to squirt dirt and such from the bottom compartment. I was considering rehousing Monroe, because his bubble nest is coming along beautifully and I wouldn't want to destroy it when it's completely made(he needs another container to care for the eggs anyways). They both seem normal, I know I shouldn't have but I checked to see if they would eat using one pellet each - they won't eat if they're sick, right? They ate, so I'm not concerned as before. I'll check the water levels tonight.

 

[Shellybean02]

I have had 3 betas at a time (2 passed

) and it really doesn't bother them that much if they can see each other. Just make sure they're tanks are far enough away. And please, don't put a beta fish in a tiny bowl. They actually enjoy swimming!

RIP