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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent  Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1 |
Tube sock filter. 
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Brand new sock after one day showing debris filtering. Bought the socks at 6 pair for $9.99. 
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Just about to siphon the solid waste!! You can see sunfish between 3 and 8 inches in the photo. You can also see the pump inlet filter that I got from vendor at PB5. 
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Snack time!! Everybody's favorite! 
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Sep 2009
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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What's your timeline on switching to sinking pellets then floating?
I believe in catch and release. I catch then release to the grease.. BG. CSBG. LMB. HSB. RES. ![[Linked Image from i90.photobucket.com]](http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k247/jmilczski/Fish/PBSubscribe.gif)
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Great question! I will start throwing in individual pellets next week. Yes, sinking for sure.
I will soften the pellets initially, and I will throw in a single pellet at a time until the first pellet hits the bottom uneaten--even if it's the first pellet. I think in a system like this you just can't afford to have pellets sitting on the bottom. I'll also use the Cargill product to test for palatability.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Interesting Bruce!
I looked up pond zingers and found no data on this product being safe for fish intended for potential human consumption. Maybe it's out there, but not on their web site.
Keep in mind, that the pet store supplies you are adding for conditioning water and such, may not be safe either.
Just a couple thoughts!
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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The conditioners are designed for turning tap water into usable aquarium water. What might not be safe about them? Very curious.
I guess at the very least, I'm not intending on eating any of these fish.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Dec 2009
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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There are virtually no aquarium supplies available that have passed FDA scrutiny.
You may not eat them, but someone else might!
Just tossing out some stuff to think about.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Actually Phil just because something has not been approved by the FDA doesn't mean it's not food safe. It could just mean the manufacturer didn't spend the big bucks to get it lab tested.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 11/18/12 05:34 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Dec 2009
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Actually Phil just because something has not been approved by the
FDA doesn't mean its not food safe. It could just mean the manufacturer didn't spend the big bucks to get it lab tested. Really want to risk sucking down a bunch of chemicals? If the manufacturer had any integrity, they would get it approved, but aquariums don't fall into food fish concerns, nor the chemicals used. Anyway, not going to argue about anything, just pointing a few things out and see what happens. Up to Bruce!
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I would definitely never eat any of these fish, but intuitively it seems to me that like most chemicals, would be a matter of volume and frequency. I'll confirm with Pond Zinger folks what's in their product.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Actually Phil just because something has not been approved by the
FDA doesn't mean its not food safe. It could just mean the manufacturer didn't spend the big bucks to get it lab tested. Really want to risk sucking down a bunch of chemicals? If the manufacturer had any integrity, they would get it approved, but aquariums don't fall into food fish concerns, nor the chemicals used. Anyway, not going to argue about anything, just pointing a few things out and see what happens. Up to Bruce! No argument necessary Phil. Just saying just because something is not approved by the FDA doesn't mean it's not safe. It costs thousands of dollars to have the testing done(sometimes even more), and there is no reason for an aquarium supplier to do so.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Moderator
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Moderator
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Bruce - I assume the fish are eating the blood worm and brine shrimp stuff. When you make some soft pellets mash a little blood worm or shrimp stuff and mold-knead it into the soft pellets. Pinch off pellet sized pieces, roll it and drop them into the tank. This will enhance the pellets and get the fish used to eating softened pellets. Then over a few days gradually reduce the worm and shrimp stuff that is kneaded into the pellets.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Bruce the colder the water the fish are in,, the less solids they will produce due to eating less food thus water changes would not have to be as frequent nor as much. As mentioned earlier I would try to have the water mostly above 50F-55F which will keep the biofilter active and the fish will feed a little better and that may result in a little fish growth or at least they will maintain good body condition over the winter. Keeping it warmer will certainly be beneficial. Certain types of biofilters, like fixed film, will run to about freezing, just that they can get very large. My cutoff is 55F for practical purposes. The biofilter was originally developed for municipal waste water treatment in all climates. They make some pretty big ones. The use for fish came a bit later. I'll bet that someone about 2000 BC had one tho. Let us know what you do about a heater Bruce. The RES I seined out of my pond in August really slowed down eating bloodworms once the water temps dropped down to 55 degrees. They ate fairly well at 59-60 degrees but that 55 degree mark was where the feeding off dropped significantly.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Bruce - I assume the fish are eating the blood worm and brine shrimp stuff. When you make some soft pellets mash a little blood worm or shrimp stuff and mold-knead it into the soft pellets. Pinch off pellet sized pieces, roll it and drop them into the tank. This will enhance the pellets and get the fish used to eating softened pellets. Then over a few days gradually reduce the worm and shrimp stuff that is kneaded into the pellets. That's exactly what I'm going to do!! I call it the "Cody Plan"!
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Shorty, my water temps are about 49-52 the last few days and the fish are rapidly training. Wish I would have started a few weeks earlier though. Not sure what the fish will do when temps drop into the low forties.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Bruce, the 22 small RES I had out in my shop were eating close to an ounce of bloodworms/small pellets a day until the water temp dropped to 55 degrees, then feeding dropped in half. At that point I decided it was time for them to go back into the pond. The RES were 1-2" when I seined them at the begining of August, 8 weeks later they were 2-3"+. Here is one of the bigger ones I turned loose. 
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Moderator
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Bruce are you using a heater yet?
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
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I just bought another 1000 watt heater and theromostat/controller for around $90.00 on Amazon.com for one of my high school systems. I can easily get the water in a 500 gallon system up to 80 F. if i want to and keep it that way.
You could set it much lower if you wanted to.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 11/18/12 09:14 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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So Shorty, where were you getting your bloodworms? How much were you paying for them? Were they frozen?
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I got the bloodworms at Petsmart, Sally's frozen bloodworms in 4 oz block. I used a serated knife to cut the block into smaller pieces and then thawed the smaller chunks in shot glass. Once thawed I mixed in some smallet pellets and let the pellets soak for 15-20 minutes before feeding.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,134 Likes: 486
Moderator
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Field Correspondent Lunker
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Bruce-Shorty - try using cooked or raw shrimp; mashed or chopped. Save the water that you cook them in and use the water to soften the pellets; works great. Shrimp work good for me, are found easily and probably cheaper ounce for ounce than blood worms. For budget minded with time, trap crayfish and use the shelled tails. Chopped or pieces of nightcrawlers work good too.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 11/19/12 10:04 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Never had a project like this, but I have done aquariums with native species and echo Bill's comment above about the shrimp. Every fish LOVED them.
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,794 Likes: 68 |
I got the bloodworms at Petsmart, Sally's frozen bloodworms in 4 oz block. I used a serated knife to cut the block into smaller pieces and then thawed the smaller chunks in shot glass. Once thawed I mixed in some smallet pellets and let the pellets soak for 15-20 minutes before feeding. Shots of bloodworms - brilliant! Josh would have been all over those at Big Cedar.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau ![[Linked Image from i1261.photobucket.com]](http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/ii582/teehjaeh57/I_subscribe_zps69249d43.gif)
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