JADE PERCH HATCHERY - set-up access
JADE PERCH HATCHERY - set-up
This page is only available to lever 2 and 3 clients.
Please email the Perch Man directly to gain access to this webpage.
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Spawning tools and equipment
Below is everything needed to spawn Australian perch.
Right click pictures and open in new tap to see detail full size image.
Two sizes of needles.
1ml syringe (About 10)
Hormone (This size will cover 20 kilo of breeders in total.)
Eletronic scales (Battery powered up to 5 kilo.)
Fish tranquiliser such as clove oil, MS222, or phenoxyethanol.
Dissecting microscope
Lower magnification than other microscopes, so you can see many oocytes in the viewing field.
2 containers to hold fish.
One for anaesthetised fish, and one for recovering fish.
Tanks must have very good aeration
Spawning tanks - at least 3 tanks preferably with a cone base and strong aeration.
No less than 1,000 litre but preferably 1,500 to 2,000 liters.
Strong adjustable aeration for spawning tanks.
At least 2 glass jars about 400 to 500ml.
400 micron screen with large surface area.
OR duel stand pipeswith outer screen.
You can also use the website search tool at the bottom of each page
OTHER SPECIES
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending
GREENWATER CULTURE for small systems
This page is for the small hobbiest or research purposes Reference Rick Datodi.
Greenwater culture refers to an aquaculture and aquaristics technique where microscopic algae (phytoplankton) are intentionally cultivated in the water column of rearing tanks. Often utilized in hatcheries, it serves as a foundational nutritional base for zooplankton (like rotifers) . . .
Yates Vegie & Herb and Seachem Flourish - Green water (phytoplankton) nutrients for culturing Moina & Daphnia
Method
1. Fill bucket with dechlorinated water, preferably from a pond or tank. (White buckets reflect light and give better results)
2. Add Thrive → stir
3. Add Flourish → stir
4. Seed with a cup of existing green water or old tank water
5. Put in full sun or bright indirect light
6. Leave it alone for 3–7 days
What you should see
- Day 1–2: Slight haze
- Day 3–5: Light green
- Day 5–7: Medium green (perfect for Moina/Daphnia)
- Dark pea soup: Dilute 50% with fresh water
- Why this combo works well
- Thrive gives algae just enough nitrogen to grow without going anaerobic
- Flourish stabilises the bloom with iron + trace metals
- Both are extremely forgiving if you slightly overdose
- Moina and Daphnia thrive in this nutrient profile
- Works outdoors in Melbourne even during cooler weeks
- Adding aeration helps keep algae in suspension and exposed to light more evenly, as well as preventing thermal stratification. The better gas exchange also produces more stable growth. This is beneficial but not at all essential.
Note: Preferred bucket colours for culturing green water / 1 white or clear / 2 yellow / 3 grey
Culture maintenance: If cultures are unused for a week or so and lose their dark green colour or turn yellow, they likely need to be refed. If they become too green and dense they should be split and fresh dechlorinated water added. This schedule helps prevent the culture becoming too dense or nutrient starved.
Culture collapse: If the water turns cloudy and there is an unpleasant smell, it may be contaminated
and gone off, so discard and restart from scratch.
QUICK LINKS about -
You can also use the website search tool at the bottom of each page
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending
Click the picture below to see some of the birds and other wild life I filmed while collecting jade perch and golden perch for breeding
Fish that don't grow
What does it mean when some fish in a pond or tank do not appear to grow like all the other fish in a pond or tank?
He said in his lecture at an Aquaculture Association of Queensland conference that dwarfism in Australian perch is as rare as it is in humans.
He said that all perch (referring to silver perch) will reach their full genetic potential, meaning they will grow big.
He went on to say that only research would answer this question.
He even stated that the smaller fish may turn out to be the ones we should grow (Selective breeding) because they are more "peacefull" and less agressive to the other fish in the population.
Due to lack of funding, this research was never conducted.
Therefore farmers growing jade and silver perch should conduct their own research to gain an accurate answer to this question.
My theory is that because of the harsh environment these species (jade and silver perch) come from, a small number of fish will grow slowly so that should conditions be unsuitable for spawning they can survive through to better conditions and contribute to the survival of the species.
Jade perch ONLY occure in Australia, in the Lake Eyre River Basin shown below in red.
This area of Australia is very arid. See this video of the road to the Barcoo river.2 minutes 2 seconds
Water flows sometimes only occur once or twice a year and it is not unusual that no water flows occur in a year or more.
Therefore, he recommends that they be moved to another pond of similar size so that they can continue to grow to full size.
To understand the environment that jade perch are native to see this page
In the map below you can see the Barcoo River at the balck arrow.
The above map is shown in the balck rectangle below
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QUICK LINKS about -
You can also use the website search tool at the bottom of each page
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending
Click the picture below to see some of the birds and other wild life I filmed while collecting jade perch and golden perch for breeding
Acidosis simple explanation
CO2 builds up in the packing water during transport causing the water to become acid
Carbon dioxide (CO2) which reacts with water to form a weak acid (carbonic acid).
This buildup lowers water pH, impairing oxygen uptake in the blood and causing physiological distress.
During transport the CO2 in the shipping water builds up dramatically, especially when fish are packed in commercial quantities.
The longer the fish remain in the bags, the more CO2 dissolves in the packing water, and the more acidic the water becomes.
It readily enters the blood plasma as nontoxic bicarbonate ions and makes the plasma more acidic.
BUT, let's not get too scientific here, you just need to understand. . .
The longer the fish are in the bags, the more dangerous the situation becomes.
Eventually, levels reach the lethal point.
However the fish survive because the fish were packed using pure oxygen.
ALSO because we use the most up-to-date, scientifically proven packing methods.
When the fish are packed everything is in balance so as the pH drops its effect on the fish is not dangerous.
How the CO2 affects the fish depends on the total transit time, from packing to repacking.
The most relevant fact is that CO2 acts as an anesthetic on the fish, dramatically reducing the respiration rate.
This is what kills the fish if they are not unpacked correctly!
Packing fewer fish per bag would reduce this, however airlines charge by weight, so the more water means more weight.
(Typical rate from Brisbane to Singapore is about $6.00 per kilo.)
Water is the most expensive part of airfreighting fish.
Therefore, if the amount of water in relation to the number of fish is reduced the shipping cost is dramatically reduced.
As an extreme example, if only one fish, a fry of about 1 gram, was packed in the bag, it would probably die of starvation before the water quality and oxygen became an issue.
So, somewhere between one fish and many thousands of fish is the sweet spot.
That sweet spot is determined by research over many years.
You just need to unpack the fish correctly.
You can also use the website search tool at the bottom of each page
OTHER SPECIES
Click the picture for video - Low altitude passes over Barcoo River - with surprise ending