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This thread will document efforts to breed bluegill using resources some of the people I work with have. Goal is to produce a whopping 50 fingerlings with a total length of 1". Likely just going through motions because so late in season so will repeat effort next year.

Tank is roughly 4' x 4' x 8'. Location is on north side of barn where is collects rain water. Nest site added so I can monitor breeding activity and collect prolarvae to manage stocking density. Some prolarvae may be transferred to additional culture units in the form of 30-gallon protein tubs like used for supplementing forage / hay fed cattle.

Broodstock started as four Hand-paint Bluegill ranging in length from 2" to 3.5". Slight problem, only male died. Will be replaced today with similar sized male Northern Bluegill. Females will be removed once prolarvae confirmed present. Male may be left with brood which might of interest to some why that could allowed.

Photoperiod may need to be manipulated. Plankton will need some coaxing. Feed will be started once fish are about 0.75".


Thread will also provide me with opportunity to manage images.


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Wow gonna be following this thread attentively!!


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I have done such before with other sunfishes that have larger larvae. Larvae size and sometime behavior is more important that you might think. Larval spotted bass are super easy as are members of the rockbass clan.


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Experience with redears?


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All life-stages. Pond and tank. Breeding just like with Bluegill. I use Redear males as teasers for male Bluegill.


A lot of combinations too.

Pure
Diploid
Triploid

Hybrid with Redear as female parent
Allodiploid (w/Green, Warmouth, Pumpkinseed, Bluegill and Redspotted)
Allotriploid (W/Green, Warmouth (both ways), and Pumpkinseed)

Larval rearing easy and all feed train at least as easily as Bluegill when fry.


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Interesting. Thanks.


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Redear very easy in tanks. In ponds they eat feed better than most people give them credit, for but they do not feed at surface very well which I think is common knowledge. They do get big easy but crowd that bends my ear is not as enthusiastic about eating them as they are Bluegill or the crappies.


All the crosses above where from when we doing snail control experiments and trying to make tetraploids. Students, some high school, did a lot to the hybridization and pressure shocking as pretty low tech. The hard part was keeping the little ones from drying out in pretty dishes until old enough to feed plankton or stock into ponds. Some of the hybrids also done as part of a hatchery class so I just watched to make so no one got hurt operating jack ingested spoo.


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My experience is that Redears will feed well on the surface during low light levels such as right before sunset. I have a working hypothesis that RES are more light sensitive and also better dark adapted than other sunfish, it has worked well with feed training a batch of RES in a 300 gallon tank this summer.



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That may explain why they seem to do better in turbid water.

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That is pretty much what I see. Redear in natural habitats (streams) seem to be in deeper part of runs and pools. Maybe light level is what helps them stay in those micro-habitats.


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I added male NBG (Northern Bluegill) to stock tank. He is about 1/2" longer than the larger HpBG (Hand-paint Bluegill) females. Dominant female went from brat to submissive with just a few seconds. Other displays occurred but may not be of interest here. When male leaves her immediate vicinity (~18") she goes brat again.


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Interesting stuff Jim.


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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RES eat pellets well just not at the surface. I have many eating as the pellets sink down about 6-8 inches. They eat sinking pellets well especially in tanks. You can make a RE feeding platform with the shelf submerged about a foot off the bottom in 4 feet of water. A few floats some rope or wire(plastic coated) and a piece of tin or rigid plastic.
















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With RES, have you ever tried using a belt feeder or some other type of automated feeder? Sinking pellets likely still best approach and I suggest using larger pellet size that you would for similar sized BG. RES have a larger gap size but are not as good at processing a lot of mouth fulls.


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Yes auto feeder with RES feeding platform under it in a pond. Used mixed floating and sinking pellets.
















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Fish is this setting are not being fed a practical diet despite being feed trained. The is endeavor is to provide my kids a little fun so we are providing insects in the form of meal worms and grass hoppers. Fish are fed to apparent satiation near end of day. I have popped them with a feed formulated for aquarium use. Feeding rate is modest to reduce turbidity. Some insects are clearly falling in although not at rates needed to promote conditioning for breeding. A night light of some sort my be used for that at some point.


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Would love pictures or videos. Sounds like a real neat project.

How about a suspended bug zapper



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Currently extension cords running over a hundred yards from house to barn. I am not certain I will have enough juice to run a zapper.


I have a GoPro and a underwater camcorder that could be put to task.


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That would be awesome, Jim!



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You could get a roll of 12/2 G or 10/2 G UF copper cable and run that. Better conductance than extension cords.

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Originally Posted By: John Fitzgerald
You could get a roll of 12/2 G or 10/2 G UF copper cable and run that. Better conductance than extension cords.


There are problems with that arrangement. It would deny the opportunity to put up and put down cords every time I mow. It would make fencing less vulnerable to overloading outlet during storms. It would be smart. Some things simply are not to be on my little farm.



I will be on that likely next year. Really pondering photovoltaic charger to run barn ventilation and lighting. The micro-scale aquaculture could be powered off that. Night flying insects have some serious potential almost 8 months of the year. During half that, temperature too low for fish consumption to keep up.

Insect drift I have really been aware as very significant protein source for my free-range juvenile chickens.

Last edited by Jim Wetzel; 08/18/17 08:34 PM.

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I too would love to see pics and video! The girls are always looking over my shoulder asking what I'm reading. Great to involve the kids!

Out of curiosity, about how many amps does your micro-scale aquaculture tank consume?

Solar panels seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper...might be something to that.


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Originally Posted By: peachgrower
I too would love to see pics and video! The girls are always looking over my shoulder asking what I'm reading. Great to involve the kids!

Out of curiosity, about how many amps does your micro-scale aquaculture tank consume?

Solar panels seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper...might be something to that.


What is an amp?lol. We are in milliamp-land with this venture. Currently the only power required involves a D-cell powered aerator that runs only a couple hours each evening to destratify tank. Next year I may want continuous service to ventilate a sunfish nest or to and keep keep plankton cultures rolling gently.

The lighting to attract night flying insects is what I am trying to wrap my head around. What bulbs are effective that I can operate in a high humidity setting? The black lights like used on light-traps are at top of list but a fixture supporting lamp needs to be worked out. Light-trap I use for teaching is not made for continuous / frequent use although it can be powered by 12-volt power point of an automobile. If that could be worked out then it might be scaled up for use on an organic reservoir I am trying to work for aquaculture.

Last edited by Jim Wetzel; 08/19/17 05:51 AM.

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I figured you'd need to run the aeration longer. This will be a pretty neat experiment



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Ultimately continuous aeration is to be used but very little but is not so much for aeration as simply water flow. Dissolved oxygen not expected to be a problem as typically at or above saturation. The above I do not like. I do not see how the small fish keep from getting bends. In aquariums placed in sun bends is an issue.


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