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Russ - How about adding a photo of one of the cages?. What size mesh did you use 1/2" or 3/4"?.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/18/09 07:55 PM.

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Ah Jeeze another wastebasket guy. \:\/


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Mesh size was 1/4".
Cecil, we're taking over!

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 Originally Posted By: Russ
Mesh size was 1/4".
Cecil, we're taking over!


Ask Bill what a veteran perch producer said about rectangular vs. round cages. Bill? \:\/


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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 Originally Posted By: Russ
Mesh size was 1/4".


Russ,

What size fish are you putting in again?


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Has anyone ever tried the net that you buy from net company?

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 Originally Posted By: calvin tynes
Has anyone ever tried the net that you buy from net company?


Can you provide a link?


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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nylonnet.com

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Cecil,

One cage for BG, initially thinking about fingerlings, now looking to place larger fish. Cage two will be for fingerling YP.

Russ

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 Originally Posted By: calvin tynes
nylonnet.com


Calvin,

Unless I missed it on their site if they don't have the heavy plastic type netting I wouldn't use any of their material for cages. The heavy plastic material lasts a long time and is easier to clean off then flimsier nylon netting. You need something stiff you can brush against to remove the algae. I use a push broom on an extended handle.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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why do u have to remove algae.

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 Originally Posted By: calvin tynes
why do u have to remove algae.


In itself it's not a bad thing but it has a tendency to clog the mesh and impede water flow into and out of the cage. This is not a good thing for obvious reasons. This is also why you should always use as large a mesh as possible.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/12/09 03:05 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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I just finished my version of a Cecil cage, 1 1/2" pvc, 3/4" mesh green plastic fencing and measures 7 1/2'L X 3'H X 3'W. I put pipe framing in the middle for more support and might put a removable divider in the middle.
Total cost was about $110. with some materials left over.
Will be putting in the largest PS's from my pond, and some area lakes, and then transferring them to a RAS in the fall.
I would like to mount a small fish feeder to the plywood hatch and then put a bucket over it to keep the coons out. The "Fish Mate" feeder looks interesting, any suggestions welcome.




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Nice! Good to see someone else isn't a wastebasket cage guy.

The option for the divider is cool too! Not only can you seperate different species you could crowd them a little at first (if you don't have too many) to get a better feeding response. To a certain extent the more competition you have the better they will feed. And it helps in feed training also.

I can't tell you much about the automatic feeders. I feed mostly by hand.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/12/09 03:09 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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From the Wastebasket Cage Guy: In additon to what Cecil mentioned, I see advantages and disadvantages here.

1. No pellet guard or mesh around the top. This could be good in that pellets can escape the cage and be eaten by other fish. Bad due to fairly rapid loss of feed out of cage for feeding fish and they might not grow as well since pellets will not stay in cage as long and escape before the fish can fill its belly. Feeding fish create quite a bit of surface activity while feeding and tend to push pellets to the edges of the cage.

2. Auto feeders initially sound like a great idea but IMO are not the best way to go. With an auto feeder one does not know as well when fish are not eating the food. Not eating food is a very important signal feature to let the owner know something is remiss with the fish. IMO Caged fish should be observed daily and in my experiences daily feeding is adequate for good growth rates. Auto feeders tend to cause neglect of caged fish, and this leads to difficulties when fish are confined.

3. Using the finer mesh netting rather than standard cage neting IMO will not last as long nor be as durable as standard cage netting. Finer mesh netting will IMO not be as easy to clean with brushing/scrubbing as standard cage netting. Finer mesh netting will tear or can be ripped into easier by predators than standard cage netting. Standard cage netting has built-in UV light resistance and water biofouling-rot resistance.

4. Cage will need additional floatation esp after it begins to load up with algae and get a lot heavier.

Keep us posted as to how things are going with this cage project. We are interested in photos of fish at stocking and when fish are released.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/12/09 06:05 PM.

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Bill, thanks for the input, I will put some finer mesh around the top 6 inches of the cage to prevent feed from escaping.
I live 95 miles from the pond so I have no choice but to use an automatic feeder, sometimes it's 6 or 7 days between visits. The Fish Mate feeder is small and holds about 2 pounds of food which should be enough between visits to keep the PS's fed, I was hoping someone had some experience with those feeders.
The top pvc pipe frame is filled with foam, and I will also add floatation to the top of the cage.
I will be adding the larger PS's from my pond and what I catch locally and see how well they grow.



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The water temps. are finally rising ( 55 degrees @ 5ft ) so I put the fish cage in.
Soon I'll get some of the larger PS's from my pond and other area lakes and try to grow some bigun's.





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It looks like a good start. Good luck trying to feed train PS. Since you don't live at the pond to pamper them during the early stages of pellet training, it might be pretty hard getting them on pellets. I am interested in your results.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/25/09 09:45 PM.

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Good luck with your cage experiment AP.

While this subject has resurfaced, I thought I'd offer an update to Bill Cody about my attempt with cage raising fish. Bill I'm sorry to report that my cages are still on terra firma. This year has been an absolute disaster, for both of my ponds, concerning algae. The small pond where I wanted to deploy these cages is 90% covered with algae. The only openings I have are created by the diffusers. Secchi disk readings are 3-4 feet.

10 days ago, heavy rains cleared the pond but within 2-3 days, the algae was back with a vengeance. Its has never been this bad in previous years. I've tried manual removal with limited success. The local forecast is for rain the next few days. If the pond clears from this, I'm going to give pond dye a try.

Would a water analysis offer any assistance? What would I check for......excessive nitrates??

One reason I mention a water analysis is due to Bob's comment here:

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=164077#Post164077

"Believe it or not, fresh rainwater in abundance de-stabilizes a pond's biology."


Russ


Last edited by Russ; 05/26/09 03:03 PM.
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Russ, sorry to hear about your algae problem, hope you can get it cleared up. That's the one problem I don't have, maybe the PH (5.5) of the water has something to do with it. Have you tried using bacteria to see if it would help?

Bill, I have 5 PS's in an indoor tank since Nov. and they eat pellets, 2 of them are almost 5 inches so I will put them in the cage when I get other PS's and see if they help train the others.
I'll put a small auto feeder on the wood hatch and put a cover over it to keep the critters out of the food.

Larry



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Time to try out the fish cage,I caught a couple of PS's which were only 5", but decided to put them in the fish cage untill I got some bigger ones, well they were magical fish cause they disappeared.
I couldn't find them even with a spot light at night so the next day I hoisted the cage up, no fish.
I screwed up by not putting more zip ties on the bottom fencing and they squeezed thru little gaps, that's next weeks project, this time I'll do it right.





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 Originally Posted By: adirondack pond
Time to try out the fish cage,I caught a couple of PS's which were only 5", but decided to put them in the fish cage untill I got some bigger ones, well they were magical fish cause they disappeared.
I couldn't find them even with a spot light at night so the next day I hoisted the cage up, no fish.
I screwed up by not putting more zip ties on the bottom fencing and they squeezed thru little gaps, that's next weeks project, this time I'll do it right.


AP,

Been there done that. You'll only do that once! I put a bunch of small bluegills in a cage to feed train them. One day I came out and could have swore I saw a couple of bass in the cage and a lot less bluegills. I was right. I forgot to zip tie a section of the bottom of this 10 foot by 10 foot cage and bass were coming in and bluegills were getting the heck out!

Now when I build a cage or pull one for cleaning I give it a really good inspection looking for damage or missing zip ties.

Is it possible you don't have an algae problem because of your stained water?


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Yea Cecil, algae is the one problem I don't have.
After I put more zip ties on I'm gonna put another layer of fencing on the bottom and it's going to be painted white so I can see the fish easier.



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I wanna see some 1 pound plus PS!

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Yes sireeee, 1 pound PS's & 10 lb Trout, I can dream. ;\)



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