Pond Boss
Posted By: peachgrower Growing BG in a cage? - 09/04/17 10:42 PM
I have been needing to boost my BG numbers some and was wondering if this was possible. Could I build a cage out of 1/4" or so hardware wire, put some PVC floats and an anchor, then place it in my pond to grow them a bit? I can get 2-3" BG from Arkansas Pond Stockers when they come through. How big would the cage need to be for 100 or so? What I would like to do if get them to the 4-6" size so they do not get devoured when I let them go. I feed AM500, but would take that and use a food processor to make it smaller (worked very well in the past with optimal), then hydrate it. I could feed them twice a day. How long do you think it would take to get them to that size or is this plan even feasible?? If so I might do that for a couple years until I get my sizes better established.

Thanks guys!!
Posted By: sprkplug Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/04/17 10:45 PM
Not only is it feasible, there's a ton of info about it in the archives.
Posted By: ewest Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/04/17 11:16 PM
Possible but harder to get them to grow in cold water of winter. Blocking nets work also but have same winter limits.
Posted By: peachgrower Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/04/17 11:54 PM
Thanks guys, will check it out.

ewest, so waiting until the spring would be best I'm assuming?
Posted By: Shorty Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 12:55 AM
Warmer water temps during the summer will be your friend when growing out sunfish in a cage. I am currently growing out 100 redears in a tank out in my shop and I am running aquarium heaters to keep the water temp at a consistent 80 degrees. I have been feeding them small amounts of both hydrated and dry food 10 to 12 times a day and they have grown a lot since May 8th.
Posted By: sprkplug Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 01:07 AM
I agree that warmer water is probably best, but I have over wintered HBG in cages with minimal loss a few times. Once I even cut a hole through 5" of ice and caught a couple right out of the cage.
Posted By: ewest Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 02:38 AM
BG can overwinter in cages that is not the question. Growth over winter is the question. That is especially true with small BG and more northern locations. In your location it would be interesting to try some in a cage. I would keep the number small and read the threads on here about what you need to feed and how to avoid fungus problems. It would be easier and you could grow out more faster next spring to summer.
Posted By: sprkplug Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 12:04 PM
I think I would try it now. A hundred 2-3" BG won't cost much, and even in my area I will be feeding for another 8 weeks or so, and you may be able to feed longer than I will. It would be an interesting experiment, shouldn't be out much if it doesn't work, and may give you a jump on next growing season?
Posted By: peachgrower Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 02:32 PM
That was my thought also. Just a matter of knowing when the truck comes by. I will probably do this, when I do will record all that I can and post results. It may end up in the spring...but if I can get it all together I will. If I could get them to the 5-6" mark I think they would all be okay.
Posted By: esshup Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 04:39 PM
Two things to consider when cage raising the fish.

1) The cage mesh shouldn't be rough, like galvanized mesh is, because the fish brushing up against it will damage their fins.

2) The cage mesh has to be small enough to contain the fish in the cage, but large enough to get water flow through the cage to have sufficient levels of O2 in the cage. If you have FA build up on the cage netting you have to scrub it off every week or every few weeks.

The bottom of the cage should be at least a few feet up off the bottom of the pond. I have put 2-4 Tilapia in each 4' square cage to deal with the algae issues. Yes, they eat the pellets, but they also peck at the algae that grows on the mesh, so I don't have to stress the BG in the cage by scrubbing the mesh.

I use a plastic netting that I get from Stony Creek in Michigan.
Posted By: Tbar Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/05/17 11:05 PM
FWIW I built this one to hold fish for an extended period of time. It is 3'x 3'x 6' and sits in 8 feet of water.

I don't know if it would work for your application.



Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/06/17 12:34 AM
Your idea will work. I have done it several times and wrote 3 articles in PB mag about growing fish in small cages. Look for a PM and I can send you some additional info about this. IMO and experience the best you could expect for BG growth is 1mm per day but reality will be an overall average of 0.5" per month in a cage with water above 65F. Note definitely not all will grow at the same rate. Some runts will accomplish 0.3" of growth per month, while the fastest growing ones will be close to 1.0"/mo. Water temps will be a big factor for how much growth you will get in AR conditions before winter.

As noted above you can overwinter your caged BG to add more growth on them next year. Then make your releases as they are proper size. You may find that you will want to do a sorting of individuals and a staggered timed release of the largest ones and continue to grow the slower growing ones to get more size.

Depending on pond conditions cage mesh can fairly quickly become clogged with FA. Outside walls can be scrubbed with a stiff bristle tar mop broom. I had two cages and just switched fish into a clean cage. esshup used a couple tilapia per cage to help clean FA on the mesh.

Mar-Apr 2007. CAGED FISH ON A SMALL SCALE. Cody in Part 1 of a 3 part article, describes the materials needed and how to build small cages to raise fish.

May-Jun 2007. CAGED FISH ON A SMALL SCALE. PART DEUX. Cody covers fish cage placement, selecting species, proper sizes, how many to stock, and feeding of fish in a cage.

Jul-Aug 2007. CAGED FISH ON A SMALL SCALE. In Part III, Cody discusses maintenance, moralities, harvest, and overwintering of fish in a cage.

Some of the early people that tried growing BG in cages was Farm Pond Harvest Magazine Leo Pachner and editor W.Ligler. "Salvaging Stunted Bluegills", Winter Issue Vol.5 No1. 1971.
Posted By: Jim Wetzel Re: Growing BG in a cage? - 09/16/17 11:42 AM
With penned sunfish, I would be using a feed formulated with more protein like used for salmon or trout.

Are you considering using some sort of automatic feeder?
© Pond Boss Forum