Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Perca Fluviatilis

I seen that Zetts has a "european strain" of yellow perch in their catalog, and was wondering if this is indeed perca fluviatilis. If so, it could be interesting using these in ponds. Does anyone know for sure if these are perca fluviatilis.

I just tried calling, and the lady who answered had "no idea" if they were or not. Not too promising.

When their YOY stock gets exhausted they do buy replacements of locally grown perch. I know of an Ohio hatchery that gets requests for perch from them. Again not too promising.

Bill, are their YOY actually a true european strain, though? Do you have any experience with them and their growth rate? Also, I would like to thank you again for your advice last fall. Things seem to be going great so far. I've culled out 200-300 of the 3-4" Green Sunfish, and the smallmouth appear to be growing well.

I ordered some of those perch about 10 yrs ago. The size of the YOY that arrived in October were 2"-2.5" long. Their growth rate in a cage never amounted to much. Very poor growth for supposedly fast growing fish. In comparison I recently got some domesticated yellow perch that at 7 months old the larger ones were 6"-7" long. Catmando has ordered YP from the Zett's branch hatchery in West Virginia. I assume they use the same strain of perch.

bbjr - Did the tilapia that you have in your pond seem to help reduce the FA this year? Removing 200+ GSF should help other fish grow better. Removing more GSF before their spawn next year will also be beneficial to improving your overall fishery.

When I put them in (mid-June) I had about a 15' ring of FA all the way around the rim of the pond. In two weeks, it was completely gone. Now, the pond looks pretty desolate and the visibility has increased alot. I think they have started cleaning out all the other organic material since the FA is gone. In hindsite, I think I liked the look of the pond better with the FA. It looked healthier. I will probably go with a lower density next season (I stocked 100 1/2 pounders, but I think a heron or two have helped themselves to a good percentage of the population).

Guys I find it doubtful the European strain of perch would be legal to import and sell here in the states. Very doubtful.

I'll ask one of my aquaculture lists and a few contacts and see what's up with this. I'll get back with you.

Which one is this btw? The one in PA or the one in WV? Are they the same people?

bbjr,

How about scanning the page of the catalog that advertises European yellow perch and either emailing it to me or posting it here?

Cecil, here is the link to the pdf of the catalog. I believe this is from the WV location. Look on page 18 for the perch.
http://www.zettsfishhatchery.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/CompleteCatalog.pdf

bbjr,

Thanks for the link. I'll let you know what I find out.

BBjr.

Still fact finding. Here's what one individual had to say about them. I left his name off as I'm not sure he would want me to post it in case there is some flack from Zetts.

"There are yellow perch in Seminole Lake in Georgia which is well known for its bass, catfish, and perch fishing which could be a source of the name. Seminole striped perch is their trade name for their fish. It is highly unlikely that they are European in origin; but possible since current regulations were not in place in when this place opened."

Thanks Cecil. If you find out any more info I would be glad to hear it. I am kind of wondering if the European strain of perch is more a product of its environment rather than genetics, though. I mean, northern pike in Europe (although they are genetically identical to North American northern pike) grow to some amazing proportions due to their diets.

I think it's both. I have seen northerns from Europe that look quite a bit different than our regarding the spot pattern. Even here in North American I take in two varieties: One that has large spots regardless of the size and one that has small spots regardless of the size.