MyFishFinder Forum
The Fisherman's Wharf => Off-Topic => Topic started by: taxid on Dec 16, 2022, 08:39 PM
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The eggs are now in the alevin (sac fry) stage. In another 5 to 10 days they will use up the yolk sac and be swimming up and around lookin for feed. Then they will be gently moved to another floating basket to feed them a finely powered commercial feed.
They don't get around too well until they absorb the yolk sac.
Believe it or not they are neither females or males at this point. The happens later in the fry stage.
(https://i.imgur.com/vxv5K40h.jpg)
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That's cool!
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That's cool!
X2
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Pretty need, thanks for sharing. Do you intend on keeping this thread alive through each stage?
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If you're interested I'd be happy to.
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I'm interested!!!!!!
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If you're interested I'd be happy to.
I'd like to follow the progress, also. Thanks!
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I'd like to follow the progress, also. Thanks!
O.K.! I waiting for them to use up their yolk sacs and swim up before I take anther photo. Could be as much as a another week or two until they have all swam up consuming commercial feed.
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Still waiting for them to absorb their yolk sacs and swim up. Getting little concerned as it seems to be taking longer than normal. Water temps are fine and no ammonia or nitrite readings. I lost five or six but that's normal.
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Thanks for the update. Good luck.
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Brown trout are morphing from alevins to fry. It's been exactly 16 days since the main hatch of eggs to alevins. Notice the lack of egg sacs, and they are in an upright position vs. laying on their sides with the egg sacs. Not swim up yet but close. They will still retain an egg sac internally for a short while.
I have raised the basket to reduce distance to the surface. At some point they will swim to the surface and gulp air to fill their swim bladders.
Supposed to wait to start feeding when 50 percent of them are swimming up looking for food.
Counting all bad eggs, deformed alevins, and dead alevins removed I am down to 771 out of a 1000 eggs. I only need about 650 maximum. Maybe even less.
This is just a laundry basket with the sides cut out and nylon screen siliconed in place. I built all my own equipment and systems. This system in my basement does not require constant new water. Most of it is recycled. In a fews months these fish will be planted into a flow through pond in the back yard. Should grow about 1.5 inches per month and be about 15 inches by November.
Click on photo to produce larger image.
(https://i.postimg.cc/DJW4J1Xq/BRT-fry-01-01-23.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/DJW4J1Xq)
16 days ago when they were alevins
(https://i.postimg.cc/5Hy6T8pZ/allevins-12-16-22.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5Hy6T8pZ)
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Progess!! 👍
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Progess!! 👍
And I will be busy soon feeding constantly!
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Saw one swimming around near the surface of the water in the basket today. Won't be long and there will be lots of them doing that.
Sorry no picture. Would have probably spooked.
I'll take a picture when they are all up and swimming around.
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Most of the fry are up and about now being fed at least 10 x per day on the hour. 1/08/22. Sorry about the darkness and lack of quality of the picture but they freak when I use the flash. The ambient light in the basement area is as bright as it gets. Max size is about 7/8 inches.
(https://i.postimg.cc/K3gNsHhd/BNT-Fry-1-08-22.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/K3gNsHhd)
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Looking good!! 10 times a day!!! 😳 That must keep you busy unless you have an automated system.
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It' not too bad considering it's in the house, What's odd is how quickly an hour goes by! And I am retired for the most part.
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Lastest picture of some of the Brown Trout fry 1/17/23. Not a great picture but I brought them out into the light which is why they are going to the bottom of the jar. They are little over an inch in length. Hatched 12/16/22. Should be about the size of a finger in a month or so and 15 inches by fall. 20-22 inches by next fall.
(https://i.postimg.cc/SYRc1h0p/bnt-fry-1-17-23.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SYRc1h0p)
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Definitely fishy looking now!! 👍
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Definitely fishy looking now!! 👍
Yup!
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Brown trout have grown about an inch since the last time I measured them and took a picture of a few in the clear canning jar January 17, 2023. So they are now 2 inches on February 16, 2023. As posted in another post they were mostly hatched on December 16, 2022. I'm hoping they will up their growth rate to 1.5 inches per month soon as they are feeding more vigorously. Once I switch to larger floating feed they will be doing some serious splashing.
There are about 700 and some (my computer bit the dust so I don't know the exact count anymore.) I split them between two floating baskets to increase water and oxygen flow. Once they reach 3 or 4 inches I will release them into the tank itself. From past experience if I do this too early some will lay on the bottom and make it harder to feed them in the deeper water. I think it has something to do with late swim bladder inflation with some.
Btw the water is gin clear. For some reason the flash makes it look greenish. I keep it quite dark in their hatchery area.
(https://i.postimg.cc/xcVBgkZB/2-16-23-trout-in-jar.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/xcVBgkZB)
(https://i.postimg.cc/N9YpmTFx/2-16-23-trout-in-cages.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N9YpmTFx)
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Thanks for the update! Your babies are certainly growing. 👍
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The 700 plus brown trout have been liberated out of the floating baskets, and are gently swimming against the current of the circular tank. They also keep the tank clean with their swimming action by suspending solids to be removed via the overflow and subsequent mechanical filters (all DIY). In a couple of months they will be moved outside to a flow through earthen pond.
(https://i.postimg.cc/8fC3jrJ6/BNT-3-2-23-in-tank.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/8fC3jrJ6)
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Cool. Makes me dizzy, though. 😵💫
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This is awesome Taxid, following along on your journey!
Are you raising these for private purchase/stockings? From your setup it seems you've done this before! Wishing you all the best and fast growth!
Jake
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Cool. Makes me dizzy, though. 😵💫
Good thing you're not a trout! ;D
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This is awesome Taxid, following along on your journey!
Are you raising these for private purchase/stockings? From your setup it seems you've done this before! Wishing you all the best and fast growth!
Jake
The plan this year was to sell about 600 pounds of them this fall for stocking a public city pond. And hanging on to about 100 males to grow to 4 to 6 pounds the following fall to sell to taxidermists whole frozen from coast to coast like I have been. I grew 600 pounds of rainbows last year for the live stocking. However even though initially I was told that browns would be fine, now they are saying they might not want browns as they are not as "pretty" as the rainbows. ::) I will know for sure if they will go with them in a few weeks. If not, I will feed the females to the bass in another pond (4 to 7 pound bass) and save enough males back for the taxidermy market. The interesting thing is you can sex brown trout by the shape of their anal fin as small as 4 inches allegedly. We shall see.
Yes been dong this on an off for about 20 years. Initially I bought the fish at a small size (did that last year with the rainbows) but getting eggs shipped overnight sure beats hauling fish.
The fly in the ointment is it costs over $800.00 to health test these trout before they are planted anywhere. This really reduces my profit margin when feed and utilities is included.
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Good thing you're not a trout! ;D
So true! I've been called lots of things, but never a trout.😉
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So true! I've been called lots of things, but never a trout.😉
Ever heard of a trouser trout? ;D
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Ever heard of a trouser trout? ;D
Yes, that is one thing I have been called! 😂
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Yes, that is one thing I have been called! 😂
:rotflol:
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Taxid thanks for the update, that is very interesting to watch.
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The plan this year was to sell about 600 pounds of them this fall for stocking a public city pond. And hanging on to about 100 males to grow to 4 to 6 pounds the following fall to sell to taxidermists whole frozen from coast to coast like I have been. I grew 600 pounds of rainbows last year for the live stocking. However even though initially I was told that browns would be fine, now they are saying they might not want browns as they are not as "pretty" as the rainbows. ::) I will know for sure if they will go with them in a few weeks. If not, I will feed the females to the bass in another pond (4 to 7 pound bass) and save enough males back for the taxidermy market. The interesting thing is you can sex brown trout by the shape of their anal fin as small as 4 inches allegedly. We shall see.
Yes been dong this on an off for about 20 years. Initially I bought the fish at a small size (did that last year with the rainbows) but getting eggs shipped overnight sure beats hauling fish.
The fly in the ointment is it costs over $800.00 to health test these trout before they are planted anywhere. This really reduces my profit margin when feed and utilities is included.
Thanks for the write up! Super interesting stuff to me, was fortunate enough to take an aquaculture class while at school and have flirted with the idea of raising some type of fish in my future!
With that health test is that specifically for your state, or is that something mandated by the Feds?
Hoping there's no other gnats in your drink! Personally unless its a wild rainbow brown trout 99/100 times are prettier than a Bow, but guess I'm just an oddball ;D
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Both state and federal. Recently he feds ruled brown trout are not VHS susceptible, and have taken them off the VHS susceptible list, so we would shouldn't have to spend the money to test for that virus anymore. But lo and behold my state DNR still mandates we test for it. It's easy for them to test their state hatchery trout as the taxpayer pays for their testing, not to mention as far as I'm concerned it's a conflict of interest.