Hello, yes the title is very luring, but basically I was thinking what if I did a pond that was 500k gallons( might do an acre) and was selfsufficient. I would base everything off the amazon river including RTC, TSN, ripsaws, aripimas, arowanas, pacu, peacocks, maybe even alligator gar, I would have for feeders mosquito fish and tilapia, I would integrate shelves pipes lotsssss of plants and structures for the feeder fish to breed and hide, I would also add big shelves for catfish and peacocks, I would dig it deep below the frost line and im in Texas so winters or mildish. I would buy the fish as fry and slowly integrate the pond water over time till they have fully switched over and I would have pellets but I would switch them to live feeding but also the occasional pellets I will be feeding the pond maybe like once or twice a week at first than switch to once every two weeks. I would introduce the tilapia and mosquito fish first than wait for there population to bloom and add the predators, the catfish would be last, again it would be very planted w hardy pond plants and in the winter I would probably drop a bubbler in or two for different areas around the pond. Thank you I thought this would be a pretty cool idea.
IDEAS Amazon river ecosystem pond
- Thread starter Redtail catfish stan
- Start date
Not sure where you are so don't know what your climate and legality of exotic fish but this is idea common in Thailand where the water table is relatively high. Lots of private lakes stock exotic ornamental fish species. Some to attract tourism and freshwater fishing.
Do a google search for Thailand fishing if you want some ideas.
Do a google search for Thailand fishing if you want some ideas.
The Amazon pretty much straddles the equator for most of its length; about as tropical as you can get. Texas stretches from about 26 to about 36 degrees north of the equator.
There are, of course, more factors that determine climate, but latitude is the biggie. Your "mildish" winters are way colder than the temperatures that fish from most of the Amazon are naturally adapted to inhabit.
At risk of being "that guy"...I don't think this is a viable plan, and telling you it'll be "fine" would not be doing you a service. Best case scenario: many or most of your fish sicken and die within months. Worst case: many or most of them make it through a year or three...barely...and are then killed by a slightly-chilly winter, after you have invested lots of time, money, effort and blood/sweat/tears, only to watch the whole thing go down the tubes.
Why fight nature? You have a climate well-suited to many types of interesting fish...or, put better, there are many such fish well-suited to your climate. Keep those!
We need to hear from
thebiggerthebetter
as he is probably the last word on the idea of true tropical fish in a sub-tropical climate and temperatures, considering the many species he keeps and the conditions in which he keeps them.
There are, of course, more factors that determine climate, but latitude is the biggie. Your "mildish" winters are way colder than the temperatures that fish from most of the Amazon are naturally adapted to inhabit.
At risk of being "that guy"...I don't think this is a viable plan, and telling you it'll be "fine" would not be doing you a service. Best case scenario: many or most of your fish sicken and die within months. Worst case: many or most of them make it through a year or three...barely...and are then killed by a slightly-chilly winter, after you have invested lots of time, money, effort and blood/sweat/tears, only to watch the whole thing go down the tubes.
Why fight nature? You have a climate well-suited to many types of interesting fish...or, put better, there are many such fish well-suited to your climate. Keep those!
We need to hear from
thebiggerthebetter
as he is probably the last word on the idea of true tropical fish in a sub-tropical climate and temperatures, considering the many species he keeps and the conditions in which he keeps them.
Sounds great on paper.
Perhaps the first big consideration is that you cannot let the water temp drop below say 70 F. How would you accomplish this goal in Texas where it can snow once in a blue moon, even in the south, or a cold spell of a week or two with near freezing low temps is not too uncommon?
Perhaps the first big consideration is that you cannot let the water temp drop below say 70 F. How would you accomplish this goal in Texas where it can snow once in a blue moon, even in the south, or a cold spell of a week or two with near freezing low temps is not too uncommon?
You shouldn't fight nature if you want the path of least resistance with most success. Sounds very obvious but always good to be reminded.
Thailand is targeting freshwater fishing tourism by bringing the top ten desired fish into one convenient location. Redtail catfish amongst others are naturally breeding there now.
I spent ten of my younger years living & working in Japan simply because they get all the best & coolest ornamental fish. Nowadays, fish keeping in Australia is getting harder with rising costs, biosecurity regulations, erratic weather. So I'm rethinking my retirement plans. How much easier would it be to keep tropical fish in Thailand ! (Or Cambodia - Vietnam). Amazing fish , delicious food and modest retirement funds sufficient to live like a KING.
A big tank would be as simple as digging a hole in the ground with a walk down waterproof basement.
Thailand is targeting freshwater fishing tourism by bringing the top ten desired fish into one convenient location. Redtail catfish amongst others are naturally breeding there now.
I spent ten of my younger years living & working in Japan simply because they get all the best & coolest ornamental fish. Nowadays, fish keeping in Australia is getting harder with rising costs, biosecurity regulations, erratic weather. So I'm rethinking my retirement plans. How much easier would it be to keep tropical fish in Thailand ! (Or Cambodia - Vietnam). Amazing fish , delicious food and modest retirement funds sufficient to live like a KING.
A big tank would be as simple as digging a hole in the ground with a walk down waterproof basement.
Try something smaller first to see what the challenges are. I live in central Florida and I have a 2000 gallon outdoor brackish system. All tropical fish. In the winter I have the pond covered as a green house. I have 2000watts of heat. Fish can withstand temps down to 68F (water temp not air) overnight as long as I get the pond back up over 70F during the day. Clear cold days are fine as I get lots of sun. Cold overcast days are a challenge. It is rare that day-time temps stay below 50F for more than a day or two. Other things to consider- the effect of rain on pH, pollutants (fertilizer) from water runoff, and very high temps in the summer. These are things I battle with (except pollutants as my new pond is above ground). Too high a temp. in the summer can be a problem. Equatorial regions dont have 100F+ (or even 95F) heat waves as will happen in the summer in Florida. Something to consider if pond is shallow. I have had fish die from heat-stress once temps went over 90F (water). Predatory birds are another thing to consider if pond is shallow (a great blue heron could wipe your stock out in no time). I have dogs so no predator issues. Pond running for 3 yrs now with no issues except keeping cool in the summer. Greenhouse cover may change to shade roof this year. Lost 3 Mono argenteus due to heat. I also add hose filtered water (comes out at 72F) when temps jump up too high or drop down too low.
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I say you can keep alligator gar and Texas cichilds and more native fish like bass and pikes and peacock bass are pretty hardy just don’t let the temperature drop below 60 I say and piranhas pretty hardy as well pacu too we have them up here in Massachusetts we’re it gets cold but as long as there a lot of food and shelter like deep water they should be fine
Pacus in Massachusetts? I say we need to hear more about that; that's what I say.
Fishguy17_Tigerfish
Your post sounds intriguing. Is it from 1sthand experience by chance? If so, where could we learn about what you keep and how you keep it?
We’ll I used too keep red belly piranhas for two years and I grew them up in a 60 gallon and pretty much never had a heater on the tank and found my tank was dropping down too 55 degrees and they would still eat at that temperature but usually be more calm and huddle up together which is crazy for a fish that lives all the way in South America but I tested out a theory in my head they can withstand temperatures as low as 52 degrees and if it’s a deep lake in Massachusetts they can easily become an invasive species as long as there food like blue gill even bass catfish etc they can pretty much tolerate the winter’s up here and pacu I found one day when I was fishing in New Bedford Massachusetts in a lake and oddly cought a fish with human like teeth and found out there pacu in this lake and I was fishing in march looking for some chain pickerel while I was fishing but found out they are invasive up here only in that lake that I know of but yea
