Raising fish out of doors

[LizStreithorst]

The gentlemen are done.  Mr Sharp said he didn't want food, but I brought out a plate of meatloaf to his son and he scarfed it.  They're loading up the last of their stuff as I type.  I'm very happy with their work.

I'm ready for a nice bath.  I'm not wet to the bone like they are, but I've been a sweating son of a gun today..

[Mugwump]

...the racks are done..."happy, happy, happy"...

[LizStreithorst]

I just filled 3 100's and a 120 with water, but in sponges and Magnums.  I won't start moving the fish back home until I scrub sides and do another WC.  The Discus will be the first to be moved back to tanks.  The PB's will go in one 100 gallon and the RSG's in another.

[sschind]

I had a customer who used to own a shop in Florida and he said he raised a lot of fish outdoors.  His patents had a large lot and he set up a bunch of horse troughs with sponge filters and he would buy tiny babies of certain fish and just throw them in there and let them grow out.  His biggest successes were with African cichlids since he could buy fry very cheap and when they colored up he could get a a lot for them but he also did a lot of black ruby barbs.  He would by tiny babies for pennies and after 6 months or so he could sell the colored males for 5 bucks each.  He fed very little and they got a lot of natural food and his parents were retired so they looked after them most of the time (free help)

I don't know if he ever sat down and figured out his actual cost/benefit analysis but he said he knew his outlay of cash seemed very insignificant compared to the money he made from the larger fish.