How Many Fish To Stock
PERCH MAN
To order, email: bruce@theperchman.com
HOW MANY FISH CAN I STOCK ?
What a question!
There is no simple answer.
Firstly lets break this question down into sub-questions.
What are your intentions?
For a farm dam
The stocking rate is calculated from surface area alone, ignoring depth and volume, within reason.
Generally, the fish need water depth to range between half a meter to three meters.
Deeper water is ok, but it is mostly about the surface area of the dam.
This will give the fish a range of habitats to use under different conditions.
Stock at one fish for every two meters of the distance around the dam. (The perimeter)
To create a place to go fishing
To be able to catch fish very easily stock silver perch at a minimum of 300 per acre, or about 700 to 800 per HA.
You will probably need to feed them eventually as they grow.
To reduce the amount of weed in a dam
Fish can’t stop the water from turning green. (Green water.)
Australian perch will eat filamentous algae, but sometimes that will still grow faster than the fish can eat it.
If you are not too concerned about being able to catch them, just stock about 100 fish per acre, or 250 per HA.
To grow fish for you to eat
You will need enough fish that catching them is not too difficult.
If you stock at very low densities, they might be too hard to catch.
Therefore, stock at similar densities as you would to create a great place to go fishing.
Remember, you might need to feed them to get really good growth rates.
To become a commercial farm
Firstly, you need to be aware of the laws in your area, state, or country.
In Australia, each state has slightly different rules/laws.
However, every state requires a level of “licencing” for a commercial fish farm.
There are also laws about what species can be grown, and the structure they can be grown in.
That is, an earth pond, an above ground tank, or tanks in a covered area like a shed.
One thing is common in all states, you can’t sell fish without an aquaculture licence/permit.
More detail for commercial ponds is in the members area of this website.
To order fish or food email bruce@theperchman.com
OTHER SPECIES
Click the picture below to see some of the birds and other wild life I filmed while collecting jade perch and golden perch breeders
