You obviously didn't have enough biofiltration judging by your readings or your system wasn't mature and fully cycled. Add that to a species that is so sensitive to handling that some haulers won't even handle them until nightfall and you had your work cut out for you. Unfortunately crappie are not as foregiving as tilapia. Been there done that with some crappie that were hauled to me in the same tank as 2 to 3 pound rainbows and browns. Beat to hell and ended up with 99 percent mortality due to massive and acute fungal issues. It didn't help a trout club volunteer dipped a full net of them all at once probably crushing half of them. He grabbed the net before I could say anything.
Although I have an aquaponics system in the summer, I'm a big believer in a dedicated separate biofilter to augment my aquaponics system (mbbr in a blue barrel) using mb3 media that is kept alive 24/7 365 days a year in one of my overwintering systems. This way there are no worries about getting a cycle going again or anoxic zones in a media based aquaponic system.
Interesting thing about shutting down biofiltration and cranking it up again: a PHD down the road that produces hybrid striped bass, said one year he shut down some of his rbc's
and when he cranked them back up he had a hell of a time with morbidity and mortalities. Said he finally realized the heterothrophs had taken up shop in his filters and were outcompeting his autothrophs due to the shutdown stagnant anoxic enviroment that favored the heterothrophs. Since they multiply much more rapidly than the autotrophs he had issues. He told me if I ever shut down a biofilter it's better to sterialize it and start over.
Btw that one fish with it's caudal fin and peduncle area missing was probably already hit by an aeromonas infection first, probably A. Hydrophilia which is known for eating into a fish's flesh. Probably gained access via an injury and stress and the fungus was the secondary invader feeding on the dead material.
Food for thought: the above bacteria is found naturally in the water and the same genus species as the renowned flesh eating bacteria of humans. However just like the fish, people with compromised immune systems are usually the most susceptible that exposedan open wound in the water. That and hospitals with antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 03/21/14 01:15 PM.
