my new dam

[OPTI]

its almost finished .after 2 solid months of work,its about 1.5 m from being full,its 120m long and 100 m at the widest points ,11m deep at the deep end and 4 m deep at the shallow end.
im getting ready to order some fingerlings soon,i thought id start with some jade perch and silver prech and may be some bass ,i just need to work out how many fish it will comfortably hold?anyone know?
id also like to put some yabbies in it does anyone know of a farm that sells them ,i carnt find any on the net

[Cammy]

Lookin Good mate! Before you start putting fish in it, i reckon it would be wise to get some food growing in there first like firetail gudgeons and shrimps and such, if you have already thats good, but if you havent,,,, go to your local aquarium shop and ask if they could order you some in for cheaper price than normal, some shops may do it some might not, just gotta find a decent one.

Not Sure on how many fish, personally i would put say 30 of each species in depending on how many species i put in, if there were less species i would put more in. I would only put a small amount in cause you have to consider the live food thats in the dam, if you have too much fish in there they could wipe out there food source.

Cam

[OPTI]

how many fire tail gudgeons should i get?

[FNQCairns]

Looks an absolute ripper!Hope you have kids, they would love it.

Like magic the trophic orders will come. Unless you are jumping straight in toward aquaculture so will also feed the larger fish manually consider the dam along the same rules as any terrestrial environment, build a solid base first.

It will take a while and is hard to rush but birds (amongst other things)will seed your dam with most organisms needed to start a natural self sustaining environment. I suspect you want a pond type result V a more commercial type one??

Where does your water come from, strictly over land flow or from a perennial creek line or is it part of a constant creek? Depending you can seed it from a few buckets of water literally dragged to the edges of another happy looking body of water.

To grow your environment you need all (billions of the critters)of the organisms you cannot see first, without these nothing happens (but it will just like magic even if you do nothing, just take longer), if you go for it be sure to get some of the bottom as you drag through.

cheers fnq

[OPTI]

thanks FNQ ,no im not going into aquaculture,id be really happy just to be able to catch some nice size fish out of there with my mates while having a few beers,
i figure il have to feed them ,depending on how many and what i get,the water comes from run off ,im at the bottom of a big hill [range ]the dam went from the original dam[small 3 m deep] to what you see in the photo in 3 weeks of rain we just had.well i guess il start with some fire tails and go from there

[ffejsmada]

Opti, get some Rainbows. The local Melanotaenia duboulayi are the go.
Native fish to northern NSW and southern Qld.
They'll breed like rabbits and quite cheap too.

Below is a pic of the one I've got in my local creek. Very hardy fish.

[OPTI]

Opti, get some Rainbows. The local Melanotaenia duboulayi are the go.
Native fish to northern NSW and southern Qld.
They'll breed like rabbits and quite cheap too.

Below is a pic of the one I've got in my local creek. Very hardy fish.

thanks for that ,il get some ,ive ordered 4 bags of firetails aparently a couple of thousand per bag ,il get some rain bows as well and get the ball rolling.thanks heaps for the info

[Cammy]

Yer rainbows are a good idea. Weed or any stucture in the dam, just out of interest?

Cam

[tunaticer]

Spangled perch are quick breeders and will control any outbreaks of blue crayfish to help preserve your dam. Also good forage fish for larger predators as well.

Do you have any sunken trees or artificial reefs set in place prior to filling?

[murf]

be very careful not to get the mosquito fish in it (Gambusia affinis) they are the biggest curse you can have, they will eat every small fish you put in and nip the fins off the bigger fish stressing them out. In saying that if they are in your area they will find their way in.

I was into growing redclaw commercially and they were one of my biggest nightmares although in designed ponds I could control them

the buckets of mud and organisms from another water body is the go

nsw fisheries have info on stocking ponds/dams re the # of fish

you can add fertiliser or grass/hay to increase the fertility of the pond, this will feed the planktons to which is your main food for a dam

add redclaw to make a natural balanced system

also some form of structure as all fisher persons know logs, old trawl nets etc

mate you are on a big leaning curve but you will love every day of it

all the best

cheers Murf

[murf]

I presume you are in QLD re the adding of redclaw as you can not add them in NSW with out a lot of approvals

[OPTI]

thanksfor the info guys ,i have lillies in there already from the old dam,im chasing some concrete pipes to roll in there for a reef [strusture],there are some old logs as well ,should work out ok i hope.

[Lizard Man]

Hey Opti. What a great looking dam Whereabouts are you located? I may be able to help you with a few bits and pieces for your dam. Both structure and fish.

[OPTI]

im on the gold coast .at the bottom of mt tamborine,i can pm you my number if you like ,that would be great .

[reelchippy]

Mate i built my dam about 7years ago and i have take fingerlings to 40cm in Bass,yellos ,and some others pm if you would some inside help that i didnt get and would have loved cheers


http://www.seqfish.com.au/