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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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I cull all females and all fish with Wr's less than 100--in other words every fish that isn't really, really chunky.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Dr Bruce says - "I cull all females and all fish with Wr's less than 100 ---in other words every fish that isn't really, really chunky." This is an example of selective harvest and breeding that is what growing trophy fish is all about.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I don't know if you can see the difference in size, but here is an update from today. This is at 28 weeks. The average of the top 75 fish is 4.77 inches, and this one is 5.25 inches. The average length of the next 75 fish is 4.01 inches. The average length of a random sampling of other early age-1 fish is 2.75 inches, but this includes many fish that were likely born later in the summer or even early in the fall. Currently most of these fish are stuck in a shallow pond covered with snow. I fear for their safety because of possible oxygen problems. Wednesday I was pushing snow off of the pond until the ice started to sag.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the same fish from 11 weeks ago. I've been trying to select one of the biggest three fish for pictures so this could be the same guy.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Moderator Lunker
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FYI, gentle readers, Dr. Condello is pushing for a 1 year old BG that measures 8" in length. For the record, I'm betting the "over", not the "under".
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Bruce, you are an inspiration to a guy that once thought BG's were only "bait" CONGRATULATIONS...
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Dang, I'd like 500 please. How much would shipping to California cost?????
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Depends on the size. Probably not too bad for one-inchers. I think a guy could have a tank setup like me or Theo and buy 600-700, then grow them out for six months and stock them. For the shipping you'd save you could buy the tank setup.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Lunker
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This past week, USA Today had a short article on aquaculture. This article also had a breakdown of the major fish species that are being grown. Unfortunately, the list did not contain the Condello BG strain.
Nice fish Bruce!
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I tried to track down the biggest bluegill in the tank today. My tank bluegill are 31 weeks old. The largest one I could find weighs 66 grams. This was before feeding. For perspective, two ounces is about 56 grams. There really isn't a lot of length increase going on. This fish was still 5.25 inches (actually 134 mm). I'm embarrassed to admit that I've lost my Wr table so I'll have to check with Dave Willis or Bill Cody sometime.
I also had the following two bluegill.
118 mm @ 48 g 116 mm @ 48 g
(edited post, I had to correct my data--sorry)
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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The smallest I saw on one source is 6 inches which has a Wr of .2 lbs.
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Sorry, if anyone read the above post I wrote the wrong data. It's now corrected.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Bruce Have you ever calculated how efficient the bluegills are at feed conversion? In my Tilapia growout I got down to 1.2 pounds of feed per pound of fish. Some tilapia guys list data going down to 1 pound of feed per pound of fish! Are bluegills anywhere near that kind of feed efficiency. If they are, maybe the Condello strain can cure world hunger!
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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My bluegill have a feed conversion ratio of around 2:1. Two pounds of feed equals one pound of fish mass. This is the conversion in my ponds. I don't know what it is in the Po'Boy tanks. I'll bet the tank ratio is better. I'll have to do some calculating. This brings up an interesting point. Feed conversion ratio in fish is a confusing term, because you are converting dry (feed) weight into wet (fish flesh) weight. A 1:1 ratio is really like a 5:1 ratio if you take this into account. It's probably all the chicken feathers in the feed that keep it from converting better.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Originally posted by Bruce Condello: I'll bet the tank ratio is better. I'll have to do some calculating. I'd think the other way around, if the pond fish are getting any natural feed. Unless the lack of exercise in tank fish makes up for that.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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A little over 32 weeks old the bluegill have the following numbers:
Top 75 bluegill average length 4.97 inches with the best fish at just under 5.5 inches.
Next best 75 bluegill average length 4.16 inches.
The biggest bluegill was 74 grams, or about 2.6 ounces.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I think you're right, Theo, in a world where the pellets are all getting eaten by bluegill. I think that turtles, a few HSB and a lot of pellets getting wasted by floating to shore screws up my numbers. I would like to try getting a feed conversion ratio on the bluegill in a bluegill only pond but I haven't done that yet. In my HSB only pond it was always around 2:1.
Lack of exercise is definitely a factor...
Maybe I should just quit yapping my mouth and actually do it right.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Lack of exercise is definitely a factor in what? and how?
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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They're not burning calories swimming around looking for food and fun, and avoiding trouble. IME tank Lepomis mostly loaf, except when disturbed by their only predator (me).
Nobody will know until you do the deed and crunch the numbers, Bruce.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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I can somewhat relate to the lack of exercise.
It seems that you need a control group to do it right and get a somewhat, but only somewhat, true comparison.
To get to a true ceterus parabus, Bruce would have to exercise the BG and also totally control feed consumption of 2 groups. And, that's about as egg headed as I want to get.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Yeah, and my 2:1 estimated BG convesion ratio is based on an "assumed" number of individuals in my pond that have been being stocked over a 2.5 year period. I "think" I've got 505 bluegill, but it could be more or less on many, many factors. Every time I see a dead bluegill I substract 5 from the number of fish in the pond because that model has yielded somewhat accurate numbers in the past when I've drained ponds. In reality I could have anywhere from 200 to 900, which, obviously, skews my feed ratio a little. It's bad science, but it gives me an idea how much feed to kick out of the feeders.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Factor in standard temp in Po-Boy and that could well make up most of any difference. Temp plays a huge part in metabolism in cold-blooded fish. Bruce's RAS YP kept growing over winter because the Temp in the RAS was not Neb. cold. I thought they got some natural food also (worms , FH, etc ).
When it gets to hot or cold metabolism slows down and food use conversion changes from optimum temp range. In the RAS you stay in the optimum temp range and metabolism stays high as does food conversion. You want to add flesh not fat from sitting around as it weighs more . But this is not a grow fish for feeding people (aquaculture) operation so is food conversion really that important ? There are lots of studies with different ways to measure weights -- wet to wet , dry to wet, dry to dry. IIRC they mostly end up with dead fish. Not my idea of the right place for a prize CSBG . I don't think you can get accurate food conversion rates in a pond where the fish are eating natural food ; all you can do is take the controlled study rates from the studies and extrapolate it to how much food you put in the pond and what to expect to see resulting from the fish . As a pond management tool it is an estimate of what to expect , not a measurement of results. I would suggest that what Bruce is doing is better - take avg growth rates , sizes and weights along with the # of fish and calculate weight of fish to amount of food -- and then you know "How much did the food help" aka How many pounds of extra fish did I get with X lbs of supp. food. Do this in a rough way by comparing your fish to Std RW fish or your fish from a non-feed pond to the feed pond.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Top 75 bluegill average length 4.99 inches and 49.5 grams.
Next 75 bluegill average length 4.18 inches and 28 grams.
Some of the average fish that have been kept in tanks are ranging from 6-16 grams.
As noted in "Cecil Envy" post I'm thinking of adding a heater to the system to speed the growth. The only problem is that the flow-through aspect of the tanks is critical for me since I'm only there two or three times each week. The flow-through keeps the water fresh, but also limits how much I can heat the water. I could conceivably spend a bunch of money on electricity just to heat the water that's spilling out into the ponds. Not exactly a good use of resources.
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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Top 75 bluegill average length 5.10 inches and 56 grams.
Next 75 bluegill average length 4.24 inches and 32 grams.
Biggest fish I could find is 76 grams.
I'm going to have a celebration, maybe like a Jack Daniels toast when the first fish hits 85 grams. The magic three ounce mark.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Take a loom at this 12 month Blue Gill. This is one of the "average BG" we now have in our pond. They are running 8-9" in length and weigh 8-10oz. based on my fish scales. i will show you other pictures at the conference. These are pellet fed daily, and fed all winter long.
Mike
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