Fixing up my solar panel and then moving it to the new ponds to run aeration compressors.

I will run the power from this  panel to regulator and then to a battery or two and then to the 12 vote compressors and then through air lines to the ponds, I will keep the air stones  off the bottom of the ponds to allow for silt build up, another swim coming up to place the air stones.   Solar power is ok but the nature of the beast is when the cloud cover is persistent over some days there is no power this will not matter to the outside ponds however you cannot rely on it for permanent power or even backup.

Putting the new jetty in place, the water is cold but not to cold the fish will be thriving, the amount of plankton in the water is unbelievable.

The jetty provides many benefits no just for our access but cover for the fish, protection from birds, these fish love to be under things and in the dark its where they feel the safest and of course if fish feel safe and have enough food then they will breed.  

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The video is not good( its not the camera its the user) but these creatures are very small and look like small deformed yabbies, they are a vital part of the food chain and without them we would not have as many fish.

The waterway above is Scott’s creek in south-western Victoria it has water all year-round and has some nice deep holes and as you can see it has good habitat for River Blackfish and yet there are none, talking to people who have lived in the area longer than me and before the Heytesbury forest was bulldozed ( 1950s ) I have been assured that there were Blackfish and platypus in this creek and some of its tributaries such as the Cooriemungle creek.

We have a duty to put those fish back and assist the platypus as well, do some rehabilitation works and improve habitat along the waterways. I note the work done by CMAS and Landcare where trees have been planted along some stretches of the creek.

Note also the trees that overhang the creek they are mostly Blackwoods and a few gums, that is a hint for those of you who would like to try and breed Blackfish, the second photo from the top shows an undercut below the tree that is where Blackfish like to hang, the top photo shows some gravel left over from bridge works and it is acting like a small runnel this is good for the water because it adds oxygen to the water and stirs up potential food for fish further down stream all good.

Food is essential if you are going to successfully farm fish especially natives so I spend a part of each day collecting food, the food can be anything from earthworms, cricket, moths grubs etc however there is one food that I don’t have to dig net or chase and that is Copepods, Copepods make up a large percentage of Blackfishes diet even larger fish have been found to have vast quantities in the stomachs. The water that is coming out of this pipe comes from a dam at the bottom of my property about one hundred metres from this tank, it is pumped via a windmill the windmill does not have an impeller so it does not damage the Copepods on the way up the pipe and delivers them into this fine net so I can distribute around the farm.

I finally got around to making a the deck for pond 4 it will be put it in place today and then some legs underneath and planks on top so people don’t keep falling through.

On a serious note the deck provides access to the deeper water of the pond to do things like test water quality hang breeding boxes and feed the fish it also provide the fish a sense of security these fish like to be under things. The frame is 9.5 metres long and 1.2 metres wide I will put 1.4 metre cypress pine on top to make a nice wide platform, this design has proven to be both strong and durable.

The hoop iron straps provide lateral support mainly for transport to the dam site.

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can you see him?

These fish live in the bottom not on it and that is why I believe they are more susceptible to heavy metals and other toxins in the substrates of rivers, if we want these fish to be there in the future   we must make sure the rivers are clean not just the water but the mud and detritus that forms the bottoms of our rivers.

Blue gums are becoming favourites for the killing off of these fish if the run off of pesticides or herbicide’s is not killing the fish it could be killing the food i.e. plankton and other invertebrates which the fish rely on as there staple diet, in the cold waters of the southwest yabbies are not as common as in northern parts worms and insects play a part but plankton is by far there biggest food source.

I believe this to be one of the greatest videos of fish ever taken, captured at a moment in time and the bigger fish looking on was it thinking of eating the smaller fish I don’t know.

These fish must be saved and I call on the authorities to carry out the work necessary  ie toxicology test on river substrates to determine if there are toxins in the rivers that are killing these fish.

Find the cause reverse it what  ever it is, these native fish deserve a future and it is up to fisheries to do this work no one else can, and then implement the findings after all fisheries can take your boat off you if you catch a fish under size but cant stop whole sale slaughter by toxins entering the water system.

 

These fish were they runts of the crop so I isolated them and hand fed them, just look at them now, runts of the crop would have a hard time in the wild but here they thrive .

The middle fish is between 5/6 inches long and I will keep him until fisheries have had a look and then I will sell him, I would like to get $100 for him given his size.

This is my one hundredth blog post and I was trying to think of something impressive to post but on thinking about it I would just like to reemphasize why I am breeding and now growing river blackfish or if you like Gadopsis Marmoratus  I have spent tens of thousands of my own money to first find a way to breed them and second to grow them out I have had no help from anyone except my family and local farmers, I expect to have over three hundred fish this year enough to re-establish a breeding population in a local river or lake but so far the permit  from the authorities is not there i will keep trying.

I did however find some winter yabbies for the fish,

photo below.

Today I travelled along the length of the Mount Emu Creek from the incredible swimming hole at Panmure to the head waters beyond Mt Emu  what a great waterway and what great people, I was asked back to look further by a busy farmer and further along I bumped into Peter who has fished the creek for years and was full information about the creek and the blackfish in it,  you will not find this information  in books, thanks Peter. hope the dog is ok.