…and that’s a sad fact 😦

To date we have farewelled 24 fingerlings. Of course I have kept a chart (number, date and from which tank): Tank 1 (Jades)—7, Tank 2 (Jades)—5 and Tank 3 (Barras)—12. As I have no doubt mentioned before, it’s a bit of a balancing act, and out of 150+ fish (I actually think we had closer to 200 as the little buggers are so hard to count) that means a 12–16% loss which feels like a lot. 😦

For all intents and purposes the system is within tolerance of the important levels: pH, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, but recently we have tried to adjust for potassium (for the plants) and also tried to bring the pH down. It has been in this period where we have had the larger numbers lost, but it is a guessing game as to causality…maybe it’s what we have done; maybe it is natural attrition (?) but we ARE trying our best. The rule is: gently and slowly. I hope I don’t have to report on the DFS (Dead Fish Society) regularly…

On a lighter note, the first four fish—goldfish—we bought from the local pet store are doing well. They were the first into the system and I was angling (no pun intended) for a dozen, but Chris insisted on 4, and at almost $5 each, I am glad we went with his decision. But goldfish are hardy little guys, and ours took to the sump tank really well. Their antics in the first days were priceless…doggedly trying to swim up whichever stream of water was gushing into their tank from the grow beds…so determined were they, we christened them the Salmon Brothers!

BTW the Jade Perch and the Barras were much better buying at $80–$100 per 50 fish!

PS…only a small amount of rain so far this week, so we have about 30cm of water across the four storage tanks. We are being promised rain, and the humidity is ghastly, so I am hoping to report full tanks sooner rather than later!