Fish Apocalypse

So, apparently the fish were not doing the clean-tank happy dance in that video, they were doing the, "holy cow, what did you do to our pH???" dance.  At least thats the current theory, presented to me by both my husband and a friend who is an aquarium expert.

The day after the major water change, I went in to feed the dogs, and there was another floater.  I had planned on draining as much of the tank as I could into a clean trash can until I could see the bottom to see if there was a rotting fish carcass or something that was contaminating the water.  I did not find a rotting carcass, but instead 20 recently deceased fish lining the bottom of the tank.  It looked really weird because they were all facing the same direction, so at first I thought it was the light shining through the slats in the wood...but it was going the wrong way.  I scooped the net through the water and came up with about six dead fish in the first shot.  Some of them were pretty good sized, considering I was expecting a 1-2 year growth period for these fish (I just got them in September).

After disposing of the remains, I did a search to see if its safe to eat a dead fish.  Some people said as long as its not floating, and you think you know what killed it (and it wasnt a disease), they eat them.  My husband said, "You can eat them, but Im not."  Since he has more logic and common sense than I do, I decided to follow his lead.  But, in hindsight, part of me wishes I had separated the floaters from the sinkers and taken my chances with just one....oh, well, there are more fish in the sea.  Or, in this case, the hatchery.

The Apocalypse

I emailed the guys at Liley Fisheries, and they said they have more 4"-6" fish (which is what I started out with), so I think I will clean out and cycle my tank and head back up to Boulder for some more trout...hopefully a little wiser in my aquaculture decisions this time.  I still dont know what started the whole fishy death march.  All I can think of is it started as shock when we took some out, and that led to a chain reaction, ending in my stupid overzealous cleaning.

Oh, well, live and learn.  If at first you dont succeed....buy more fish.

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Strawberries in December

Last winter, I didnt get any plants because there was a big gap in the dog door that allowed sub-zero winds to blow into the room.  I dont know how cold it got, but it was cold enough that nothing grew.

We replaced the dog door this year, and, after a mostly unproductive summer (too hot), Im actually getting strawberries!  I bought a cheap thermometer that records high/low temperatures over a 24-hour period.  So far, even with outside temperatures approaching zero, the room temperature has only gone as low as 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ive only got a few strawberries and a couple of basil plants.  In November, I had a cantaloupe plant that actually flowered, but then it wilted.  Because Ive only got one fish left, I turned off the water flow to the bed that the cantaloupe was growing in.

Aquaponic Strawberries - December 2012

Aquaponic Basil

My lone trout is getting pretty big.  I havent decided what to name him.  "Silvery 1" doesnt sound right.  Hes kind of fat, so I thought about "Fatty," but I decided that was a bad idea, since the grow lights in my window already have my neighbors suspicious.  Maybe "Big Fat Grandpa Fish."  The bigger he gets, the harder it is for me to think about...harvesting...him.  Ill probably get a new batch of little trout in the spring.  I hope he doesnt become Big Fat Bully Fish.  

I tried to take some video of him, but he just sat there...until I brought out the still camera and the flash freaked him out and he wouldnt sit still.  Crazy fish.  

Big Fat Grandpa Fish

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Summer Update Mutant Plants!

Ive been really lazy about posting to this blog, so heres a quick update.

Fish - Poor fishes, you have such a bad fishy mommy...
As the weather got warmer, I failed to add water to the tank.  One day, the timing of the two grow beds filling with water, but not enough to trigger the syphon, aligned like a bad horoscope (does that even make sense?) and sucked up almost all of the water in the fish tank.  The fish were left in about four inches of dirty water, and seven of them died.  :-(
My son had been down there about two hours earlier and everything was fine.  Since the fish werent stiff from rigor mortis, I figured they were still safe enough to eat, so I ate them...and they were good!  Then, a few days ago, there was another floater, so I ate him, too.  I think Ive still got six or seven live fish.  Theyre probably about 10 inches long now.

Plants - In an attempt to reach real sunlight, my plants have been growing freakishly large leaves and stalks.  I cant find the picture, but one of my broccoli plants, which languished all winter, and grew a skinny little stalk about the size of a thin piece of yarn, suddenly took off and grew giant leaves and a stalk about the size of my thumb.  The weird thing is that the bottom of the plant was still the size of a piece of yarn, and was trying to support the giant thumb stalk.  I decided to take everything out and stick with lettuce and other leafy greens.  I transplanted the broccoli and a few strawberry plants in the garden outside.  I didnt expect them to do very well, and my low expectations were met the next day when a long heat wave hit and withered the plants that were used to 70 degree temperatures.  The broccoli plant is still alive, but the strawberries all withered and died.
One of the strawberry plants I pulled had some blossoms, which I didnt notice until I had already pulled them (actually, my husband noticed them and told me I should put them back in the indoor grow beds).  I replanted it indoors, expecting it to die from shock, but it continued to grow and has produced several berries.  One thing to note is that aquaponic experts recommend against planting flowering plants.  These strawberry plants were in the bed for about six months, so I didnt expect them to flower.  They were growing mutant-sized leaves, so I figured they would never have the energy to flower.  I would still go with the experts recommendations not to plant flowering plants, but it was kind of cool to get some actual fruit from these plants.  I tasted one the other day, and it was kind of bland tasting.  Even more bland than a supermarket strawberry.  I guess strawberries love to grow in real sunshine.  Dont we all?

Mutant Strawberries - The smaller berries in this picture are each about an inch long.  Note the gigantic leaf - some of the leaves are larger than the palm of my hand.  Kind of freaky for a strawberry plant.

Speaking of real sunshine, I did add grow lights a few months ago, trying to get a little more growth during the winter months.  Apparently, one of my neighbors saw the lights and told her daughter she thinks were growing...uh....an illicit plant which I shall not name because I dont want my blog to come up in the "wrong" kinds of google searches.  Anyway, I am currently under investigation for a clearance upgrade for my job, so I hope the investigator doesnt choose that particular neighbor to interview.  LOL  Of course, if she does, she is more than welcome to come over and see that all I have are legal, edible leafy greens and a mutant strawberry plant!  :-)

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The End of the Rainbow The Demise of Fatty McFish

FISH
In two days, I will be making the trip to Liley Fisheries in Boulder to get a new batch of fish.  Fatty McFish is  (was) a big fish in a small tank, so it was time to make room for the tanks future occupants.

For me (and probably most people, as evidenced by this post), this is the least enjoyable part of aquaponics - "harvesting" the fish - but, it must be done.  I read a bunch of opinions on the most humane way to kill a fish.  I went with two ideas -
1 - put the fish in a bucket of ice water so its circulation will slow down
2 - smack it in the head with a hammer

Well....lets just say that I wont be doing the smack in the head with a hammer.  It didnt work after one smack...or two...or...Anyway, I think you get the picture.  Obviously, I didnt smack hard enough, but that fish had a tough head.  I ended up taking a sharp knife and sawing off the head.  Wish it had been faster.  Sorry, Fatty.  :-(

Next time I will probably use more ice in the ice water.  Or maybe try the method mentioned in the forum linked above and use clove oil in the water to anesthetize the fish.

At any rate, Fattys suffering is over and he will be dinner this evening.  He was pretty big.  I should have gotten a tape measure, but I was trying to finish it quickly, so well just have to take a guess at his length...looks like over 15 inches.  Actually, it was a "she," but we got used to calling it "him."

Fatty McFish

Heres a short video of him swimming in his tank last night.  BTW, the noise in the background is my dog drinking water.  Hes crazy like that.

PLANTS

Unidentified Growing Object - 

Last year, my husband planted a bunch of acorns to see if he could grow some oak trees.  The planters were sitting above my grow beds.  This spring, once it finally stopped snowing and the temperatures got above freezing, a strange woody plant sprouted in one of my grow beds.  Once the leaves got big enough to be identifiable, I realized one of the acorns must have fallen into the bed.  There is now an oak tree growing with my strawberries and cilantro.

The Mighty Oak

Coconut Husk (Coir) Planting Material

All of my plants in the grow beds end up with very shallow, weak roots.  My husband bought me some coir, made of coconut husks, to see if I can get a stronger root system.  Coir is being used in many places instead of peat moss.  When I soaked the blocks of coir, as instructed, I was a little worried because it just looked like a bunch of potting soil ending up in the water.  However, I put about an inch of the stuff in a section of one of my grow beds, and it seemed to hold together pretty well.  I planted a few basil and cilantro plants...and I think something else, but I cant remember what.  Well see if this allows them to establish better than starting out directly in the gravel.

Coir - 23 June

Sprouts in Coir - 29 June

Thats it for now.  I will post some pictures of the new batch of fish soon.  Hopefully this trip will be a little less...eventful than the last!

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