New venture. - European perch (perca fluviatilis)

[esoxlucius]

An update on the perch plan. I've contacted the fish store this week and it's all been cleared to take my tropical fish to them next Saturday.

Now the sensible approach would be to re-home my tropical fish next Saturday and get the perch in the tank in the same weekend. No cycling required, completely sensible. Unfortunately it's not going to happen like that.

We're going on holiday to Greece the week after next so I don't want to set my perch tank up and then leave them for a period of time. I need to closely monitor them.

So the tropical fish will go and the tank will remain empty until we return from holiday. Then the fun can start. There's a chance I may even do a fish in cycle with the perch. Not for everyone I know, you've got to know exactly what you're doing, so it's a good job I do!

Anyway, that's it for now, hope you are all well, and I hope you're behaving jjohnwm in my absence!

 

[tlindsey]

fish in cycle

I would toss in a raw shrimp or two for a food source for the beneficial bacteria.

 

[danotaylor]

Your bacterial colony won’t completely die off in a week mate, unless you stop your filtration running. If you wanted to maintain it at full strength you could do what tlindsey suggested, or put some ammonia in, or throw in a handful of fish food, and then do a BG water change when you get back from Greece
Greece! Are you going to the Islands or staying in the mainland? Those warm turquoise waters are so inviting!

 

[esoxlucius]

I have various options regarding the BB colony. Whether I wipe the current one out and start over, or keep the current one ticking over with another ammonia source I don't know yet.

Greece! Are you going to the Islands or staying in the mainland? Those warm turquoise waters are so inviting!

We always holiday in Greece, never mainland, always the islands. I've been to several islands over the past decades but the one we go to the most now is Zante. I know the place like the back of my hand, love it.

Usually we go at peak time, when the temps are regularly nudging 40°c. This time we are going a little earlier than usual so the temps will be a lot lower, typically mid 20's which is more manageable for the wife.

 

[jjohnwm]

Nice to read about someone who isn't buying some expensive, delicate fish...throwing them into a tank that was set up and filled just that morning...and is then traipsing off for a month of fun and frivolity while leaving the feeding and care of the tank to a friend who knows even less than he does!

Esox, I think you'll find that leaving your tank devoid of fish for the duration of your vacation, and then testing the water and feeding it some ammonia when you get back will return your cycle to full capacity within a very short time...a few days, rather than weeks or months. I don't know if the bacteria simply go dormant, or if the population dies back to almost (not quite) nothing, but the generation time of the little critters is so rapid that whatever remains will quickly repopulate.

I'm looking forward to following this project. In the meantime, enjoy your vacation; whatever you do, don't fret about me singlehandedly fighting off hordes of bloodthirsty bots here on MFK while you frolic in the sun...

 

[esoxlucius]

Stressful day today. All my fish have now been rehomed to a large fish store about an hour's drive from where I live. There were a couple of casualties, a few of my red tailed barbs didn't make it.

I went fishing midweek with my son to a local reservoir to search for perch. It took me a while to pinpoint them but once I did it was a fish a chuck. All perfect size around the 5" mark.

So, tropical fish gone, and I've sourced their replacements. We fly out to Greece on Thursday for a week, so when I get back I'll be going back to the reservoir to get my new "pets".

I've filled my fishless 360 back up and it is running as usual. The heaters have been taken out and I'll sprinkle fish food in regularly to keep the cycle going.

Next time I update this thread in a couple of weeks I'll be posting photos of my perch in their new home. I think I'll go with about 10-15 of them and see how it goes. Exciting times. Chow for now!

 

[tlindsey]

Stressful day today. All my fish have now been rehomed to a large fish store about an hour's drive from where I live. There were a couple of casualties, a few of my red tailed barbs didn't make it.

I went fishing midweek with my son to a local reservoir to search for perch. It took me a while to pinpoint them but once I did it was a fish a chuck. All perfect size around the 5" mark.

So, tropical fish gone, and I've sourced their replacements. We fly out to Greece on Thursday for a week, so when I get back I'll be going back to the reservoir to get my new "pets".

I've filled my fishless 360 back up and it is running as usual. The heaters have been taken out and I'll sprinkle fish food in regularly to keep the cycle going.

Next time I update this thread in a couple of weeks I'll be posting photos of my perch in their new home. I think I'll go with about 10-15 of them and see how it goes. Exciting times. Chow for now!

Enjoy your vacation.

 

[abominus]

Stressful day today. All my fish have now been rehomed to a large fish store about an hour's drive from where I live. There were a couple of casualties, a few of my red tailed barbs didn't make it.

Sorry about the loss. I hope you took a few farewell pics before giving them away? Please share them if convenient.

We fly out to Greece on Thursday for a week

Have a good time.

 

[esoxlucius]

I returned from Greece yesterday and wasted no time in bringing this new project to fruition. The water in my 360 is perfect parameter wise after regular small additions of fish food whilst I was away to keep the nitrogen cycle ticking over. My eldest son didn't come away with us so I instructed him what to do regarding adding food.

Ammonia and nitrite were both 0ppm this morning and nitrate was around 20ppm. So I did a large water change and went fishing with my youngest son to get the perch in as quickly as possible.

We caught nine ranging from around 4"-7". All caught on worm and all looking well. It didn't take long to get them home and I plopped them straight into the tank. The water temp of the tank minus the heaters which I used to have in has fell to between 18-20°C, which isn't perfect for perch, but they should still be fine. They'll start struggling around the 25°C mark but the water will never get that warm in the north facing room that the tank is in, and in winter the water should be a bit lower than 18-20°C.

Below are two pics. The reservoir where I caught the perch, and the other one is in the tank. Most are hiding in the structure which is understandable seen as they've only been in there for a short time. I will obviously update this thread as I go along.

I've also asked admin to change the title of the thread from "new venture" to "European perch (perca fluviatilis)". I feel it would be easier to find if someone wanted information on the European perch.

 

[jjohnwm]

G?reat start to an interesting project! Looking forward to following along.

So what's the plan for the rest of the stocking? Will you add more perch? Certainly at their current size you have plenty of room, but I believe your fluviatilis perch get a wee bit bigger than the flavescens we have in North America, and even ours will get to be at least 9 or 10 inches, and can get considerably bigger. Our perch display a group hunting technique which seems very cooperative and reminiscent of a wolf pack or lion pride, and this doesn't show up much with only a half-dozen individuals.

Do you foresee any other species added to the mix? If I were doing a native tank, I would be unable to resist the temptation to have a Bullhead or Stonecat or similar, just for some variety and interest...assuming, of course, that I were willing to risk fines and charges imposed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, which does not allow keeping of natives. Do you have any small-to-medium catfish in your local waters?