Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New Fish Cage Designs?

AP,

That's great you don't have an algae problem. For me cleaning the algae off the cage mesh is a weekly job.

I will say for me, for that reason --the smaller mesh along the sides of the cage at and below the water line to keep feed in -- would get clogged rapidly by algae and create a lack of water flow through. At least it's a concern for me. Instead of the using the fine mesh I use floating PVC made into a square or rectangle with 90 degree elbows(feeding ring) and float that in the cage.

Don't use too much mesh in the bottom of the cage. You need waste products to fall out of the cage. If you overlap your seams enough and use enough plastic zip ties at the edge of the two edges of the seam you shouldn't have to worry about escapees.

Cecil the cage had been in 3 weeks and still pretty clean so maybe I won't have to clean it much.
The other layer of fencing I'll put on the bottom will be the same 3/4 inch fencing so hopefully it shouldn't be a problem and having it painted white should make it easier to keep an eye on them.

Are you sure the paint will adhere to the plastic? I have a plastic boat that stickers won't even stay on.

Your right that could be a problem, maybe I'll sand it first to help it grip, we'll see what happens.

Sounds like a lot of trouble to see some fish.

Several question:
1. For those of you using the cube type PVC design, is the tubing completely closed? I guess the air trapped inside will help with flotation, but it won't help so much that the whole thing floats on top, will it?
2. Is shade a necessary addition?
3. The area that I would put my fish cage in is currently not aerated. Could one of these cheap, little, floating, solar powered aerator, fountain things be tethered to it to add some circulation?

Not in less you want that option as some suppliers supply a piece to fit in the fittings to block out water. Personally I want the frame to fill with water which is why I drill some holes into it. My flotation consists of Clorox jugs, detergent jubs, or anything similar (rinse them well before using) tied to the sides of the cage except where the cage butts up against the pier.



No. With an air filled frame, the cage will want to not sit properly in the water. I prefer using the jugs as it allows me to set it at whatever depth I want it at. I prefer up to a foot of the cage out of the water to keep the cover from drooping in the water as I use cages up to 7 feet in diameter.




Yes. Fish stress out in direct sunlight. They need a shaded area to go under in the cage. I use plastic tarp fastened to the top of my cage about 1/3 the width of the surface area (varies and not written in stone.)




Possibly. I don't always use any aeration especially if the cage is over deep water with good wind flow. If I do use aeration it's a diffuser near the cage. Never permanently place a diffuser directly under a cage. The fish don't like it and become stressed by it. However I have been know to pull the cage temporarily over a diffuser next to the pier to get any algae that is on the bottom to float up and be removed with a dip net.

I'm moving fish from one cage to another today if it stops raining. I will take some pictures and post them if you're interested.

Bullhead, when I built my fish cage I filled the top pipes with foam and drilled all the other pipes so they would fill and drain water easily. I zip tied some foam noodles to the top to give it some extra floatation.
The trap door is plywood so that it gives them some shade, and I also made a divider if I choose to separate any fish.
I built my cage similar to Cecil's cause he has lots of experience raising fish in cages, but that's not to say that the other designs aren't just as good.

No argument there. More than one way to skin a cat!

AP I was going to tell you that to some extent the more fish you can get into your cage the more likely you will get them to feed train. At some point competitiveness makes them more aggressive for the feed.

I'm going to the pond tomorrow to fix the cage, and start catching more PS's for it.
If competitiveness makes them feed more aggressive, then I probably should put the cage divider in untill I get alot more fish.

That's what I would do.

Here are a couple of cages I just planted fish into. The one with the blue tarp is 5 X 5 X 4 feet and contains about 350 yellow perch in the 5 to 10 inch range. (Most run 6 to 8 inches.)

The one with the brown tarp for shade cover is 3 X 3 X 4 feet. It has 250 bluegills from 3 to 5 inches.



I put my fish I produce in cages (except for the trout) until I can sex them or they are of a sex I do not want in the pond free swimming and able to reproduce, such as male yellow perch or female bluegills. I prefer to produce them in a separate pond. My goal is to have an all female perch and all male bluegill pond augmented with some smallmouth starting this year.

Here's how I haul fish from pond to pond and move fish cages. These two cages are ready to power wash the algae off of for future use.



This picture shows you how algae can clog the mesh on your cage. I brush them while in the water about once a week with a stiff push broom on an extendable handle. If I take the cages out they are powerwashed.



Here a cage is being powerwashed to remove the algae.

Cecil, you need a tilapia tank to clean those cages for you.

Yeah or maybe even put some tilapia in the cage with the other fish but with my luck they revert to the pellets like the grass carp I had did.

I put another 60 zip ties around the cage fencing to close any small openings, then I painted another piece of fencing white and put it in the bottom of the cage so it will be easier to see the fish. I used Krylon fusion paint which is made to adhere to plastic, we'll see.
The 6 inch trout I put in for a day didn't find a way out so I guess the problem is solved.

Sounds like a plan AP!

Great thread! Any updates?

Yeah I'm moving a way from the cages to RAS tanks! I'm seeing some wear and tear on some of the large bluegills that spent part of their lives in the cages.


I also figured out where my bluegill reproduction came from in my "all male" bluegill pond. Apparently I had some escapees from one of my cages. Esshup and I seined the pond and found several females that were to big too have been reproduced in the pond, but to small to have been planted. Logical deduction says they came out of one of the cages. I do remember the ice had pushed one side of one of the cages down to the water level at last ice last year. I corrected it immediately but apparently some swam out between the lid and the cage edge in the mean time.

If I could ask a question. I'm new to the world of fish cages and am considering building one but what wire or netting would I need to use would galvanized 1/4 inch chicken wire work.

No wouldn't recommend chicken wire. I use a plastic netting that is available from Stoney Creek (advertises here) and Internet. Lasts virtually forever and you can build a cage with a PVC frame, the plastic netting, and PVC and fittings.

I agree with Cecil on avoiding galvanized, unless you have lots of bandaids!

I've built two recently, one round cage (galvanized) and one "box" cage out of plastic netting found at the hardware store. The plastic netting I used won't last as long as what Cecil refers to but it was cheap and readily available. It's been in my pond for a month now and so far holding up fine.

Size needed and goals should be determining factors for you.

So, it depends

The round cage was $100 to build, the "box" cage around $50

I am looking for suggestions for netting material for a fish cage. I would like the mesh size to be less that 1/2" and the material to be durable. Cost is also a major factor. Any suggestions? Does plastic window screen hold up?

Don't know the answer to your question but I think you'll have a difficult time keeping algae from clogging up window screen

Here is the fish cage I built last year using the "construction netting" LovnLiving used for his cage, it is still holding up.



I think the brown stuff on the netting in this picture might be GSH eggs, this picture was taken in late August after temps had cooled down a little bit. The cage had only been in the water for four weeks.


Same cage four weeks later in September.

I "think" the brown stuff is algae