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Ashland NFWCO
 Midwest Region
 ***Dedicated To Tribal Aquaculture Programs***
          Fish Jumping
              **June 1998 ~ Volume 24****Coordinator:
Frank G. Stone 
(715-682-6185) Ext. 12
U.S. Fish and
                  Wildlife Service
Email: [email protected]** Topics
  of Interest: MTAN ArrowNew Aquaculture Alliance  Proposed for the Red   Lake Reservation
      MTAN ArrowHatchery Tips From Across the Nation  New Aquaculture Alliance  Proposed for the Red   Lake Reservation The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and the University of  Wisconsin System Aquaculture Institute in Milwaukee have signed an agreement to  study the potential for raising yellow perch at an aquaculture facility to be  built on the Red Lake Reservation. A $10,000 grant from the UW Sea Grant Institute and a  matching $10,000 from the Red Lake Band will cover the cost of constructing a  commercial-scale Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) unit at the UW  Aquaculture Institute, which will be used to train Red Lake  fisheries' personnel. An additional $65,000 from Red  Lake will fund the installation of a  demonstration unit at Red   Lake this winter, as well  as a commercial-scale system to be built in the near future. This unique cooperative effort is designed to help  revitalize the tribe's fisheries industry, boost the local economy and offer a  fish-farming model for other tribes and entrepreneurs to follow. If all goes  according to schedule, the tribe could begin harvesting yellow perch in the  fall of 1999.  Hatchery Tips From Across The Nation **Booster Pumps:** **Submitted By: Henry D. Webster, Garrison Dam National Fish  Hatchery, P.O. Box 530,   Riverdale, N.D.   58565 (701)  654-7451** Booster pumps and bag filtration used as an option to filter  particulate matter out of a water supply is intended to improve the water  quality for eggs and fry. Using any filtration system reduces the usable  pressure on a system due to the fact it constricts the water flow. As the  filter system works it plugs itself thus further restricting the water flow. In  low pressure water supplies the only way to have a filter system is to have a  pressure booster pump. This boosts the line pressure high enough to allow for  pressure loss from the filter and allows low pressure bypass valves to open when  the pressure on the outlet of the filter becomes too low due to plugging. This  helps maintain a more constant flow over eggs and feeding fry. At Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery we use a dual series  system. One system consists of a booster pump and filter canister with three  filter bags for more surface area and the capability of filtering particulate  matter down to ten microns. This system also uses a low pressure bypass switch  and valve that can be adjusted to any workable pressure. We also incorporate a  dual Ultra Violet system that treats the water after it has passed through the  filtration system. By using the systems of filtering and using the ultra violet  treatment, we feel the survival from egg through feeding fry has increased  dramatically. Also the amount of chemical usage for treatment of fish has been  reduced significantly. **Belt Feeders:** **Submitted By: Curtis R. Friez, Garrison Dam National Fish  Hatchery, P.O. Box 530,   Riverdale, N.D.   58565 (701)  654-7451** Belt Feeders can be used as a training device to train fish  into using demand feeders. Twelve or twenty four hour belt feeders work best.  The method used is to place a board or grip strut across a raceway, then place  the belt feeder (loaded with feed) right next to the demand feeder spout. As  the belt feeder feeds out, the feed falls right next to the trigger of the  demand feeder. This accomplishes two things; one, it entices the fish to feed  under the demand feeder and two, it allows for accidental demand feeder  activation. This positive reinforcement training helps train salmonids into  using demand feeders in as little as two days. **Alfalfa Meal:** **Submitted By: John E. Call, Garrison Dam National Fish  Hatchery, P.O. Box 530,   Riverdale, N.D.   58565** Alfalfa hay has been used as a fertilizer in fish culture  ponds for many years and has proven its worth. More recently, alfalfa pellets  and alfalfa meal have been used as a substitute for hay. Being dried products,  both can be stored for long periods of time and are consistent in quality. Alfalfa  meal's small particle size promotes rapid and complete bacterial breakdown. The  meal particles will also pass through pond screens at draining time and not  plug screens as hay can. Also, meal or pellets are more easily weighed than  hay. In 1992, after two years of testing, Garrison Dam NFH  decided to convert from hay to alfalfa meal. A hopper bottom grain bin of 40  ton capacity equipped with a 21' by 6" unloading auger was installed to  store the meal. A 52' by 8" auger was also purchased to fill the grain  bin. The next step was to mount a 6000 pound capacity gravity box on a fifth  wheel trailer to move the meal to the ponds. An electronic scale on the grain  box is hooked to a digital readout in the cab of the pickup pulling the  trailer, enabling the operator to measure the amount of meal being added to a  pond. During the fertilizing operation, a 12' swingout auger on  the gravity box hangs out over the pond and dispenses meal as the gravity box  is slowly driven along the pond. The auger is turned on and off by a solenoid  switch installed in the truck cab. The digital scale readout in the cab tells  the operator when the correct amount of fertilizer has been dispensed. After two years of operation this system has proven to be  reliable and a time saver. Problems encountered include: pulling an 8000 pound  trailer over muddy pond dikes and clumping of alfalfa meal in the gravity box.  Also, the operator must be attentive to avoid striking an immovable object with  the gravity box auger while moving. Pellets would avoid the bridging problem  but do not disperse as well in the pond as the floating meal does. **Packed Column:** **Submitted By: Robert D. Lindsey, Inks Dam National Fish  Hatchery, Rt 2 Box 32-B, Burnet, Texas 78611 512-793-2474** Inks Dam NFH's water supply is drawn directly from Inks Lake  with no filters or water quality enhancement devices. Both of these are  presently cost prohibitive due to the high water volume used daily. During the  summer months, oxygen levels can fall dramatically due to various factors.  Incoming dissolved oxygen readings have been recorded as low as 0.5 ppm. These  low levels do not generally cause problems in the earthen ponds holding channel  catfish. However, when draining a pond, or when holding fish in a raceway, low  oxygen is a major problem and can cause severe stress. To resolve the problem in the raceway, a packed column was  constructed using a piece of corrugated drain pipe, approximately two feet in  diameter by six feet tall. A screen of 2 inch mesh was attached to one end and  the column was filled with plastic rings, similar to those used in sewage  treatment plants. Approximately 12 feet of the top was left free as a splash  zone. Water is piped to the top and by falling through the rings, oxygen levels  can be raised from 1 ppm to 4 ppm at the tail end of the raceway with 3,000  lbs. of channel catfish being held. Readings  as high as 12 ppm directly under the falling water have been recorded. Low oxygen at the ponds while draining presented a different  challenge. Due to the fact that most of the fill pipes for the ponds are very  close to water level when the pond is full, a permanent structure could not be  built. Therefore, a galvanized metal 15 gallon garbage can was modified in the  following manner. Numerous holes approximately 2 inch in diameter were drilled  into the bottom of the can. The metal handle was removed and replaced with a  length of small chain. The can was filled with the same plastic rings as above;  however, this time the can was filled almost to the top. A screen of 2 inch  mesh was cut slightly larger than the diameter of the can and forced down on  top of the rings to keep them from splashing out. A splash plate was cut from  thin sheet metal and pop-riveted to the front of the can. The can is easily  hung on water pipes and moved as necessary. Water flows both through and over  the can. Again, oxygen readings have been raised from 1 ppm to 4 ppm in pond  kettles at capacity (1,000 lbs. of channel catfish). **Mud Pump:** When treating channel catfish in the raceway with formalin  prior to shipping, oxygen levels would fall from 6/8 ppm down to 2 ppm or lower  in 15 minutes. Air stones with a blower were installed with no significant  improvement. A large mechanical aerator was also installed, again with no  significant improvement. A gasoline powered three inch mud or trash pump was purchased.  Using a flexible hose intake at the tail end of the raceway, water was pumped  out to another flexible hose and into a three inch PVC pipe. The pipe  terminated at the head end of the raceway, dropping water into the top of the  packed column described earlier. Both hoses have quick disconnects which permit  the pump to be unhooked and rolled to a secure location after the treatment.  The mud pump is started and the incoming water is shut off. When the raceway  has drained such that no water is flowing out of the standpipe, the treatment  with formalin is started. Oxygen levels remain stable at 6 ppm for one hour  (the standard treatment time). This procedure has been conducted with 3,000  lbs. of channel catfish in the raceway. **Paddle Wheel:** Due to the low oxygen in incoming water and the inherent  problems with earthen ponds, pond oxygen levels can fall to 12 ppm during the  summer months. Should a formalin treatment or a series of copper sulfate  treatments be necessary, the problem can be compounded. Pond aerators are  inconvenient due to the problems involved in moving them. A House Paddle Wheel Model PW2 (for 540 PTO) from M & T  Machine & Services, Inc., Danbury,   Texas was purchased. The paddle  wheel is approximately four feet in diameter, including fins. It is easily and  quickly hooked to a standard farm tractor and may be moved to any pond. The  paddle wheel is backed into the pond and the tractor is set with the hand  throttle at about 3,000 rpm. The end result is a stirring up of the water and  creating better circulation throughout the entire pond. A 12 acre pond can have  the oxygen raised to 6 ppm in about one hour. No injuries have ever been  attributed to the paddle wheel, even with use on such delicate fish as striped  bass fry. In addition, formalin and potassium permanganate treatments  are very easy to administer with the use of the paddle wheel. The paddle wheel  is set at one side of the pond and half of the treatment is introduced. After  running the wheel for about 15 minutes, it is moved to the opposite end of the  pond and the other half of the treatment is introduced. With potassium  permanganate, the wheel is run until uniform color is achieved throughout the  pond, normally 15 to 20 minutes. For a formalin treatment, the wheel is run for  one hour, and then the oxygen levels are closely monitored for several days  thereafter. **Oxygen Diffusing Stones:** Various oxygen diffusing stones have been used in our  Regional Fish Distribution unit with varying levels of success. Carborundum  stones produce an acceptable bubble and are durable. However, mounting of these  stones produces difficulty when dipping fish and over time the pores clog,  reducing oxygen flow. Wilfley Weber Micro Bubble Aerators from Wilfley Weber,  Inc., Englewood, Colorado, produce an excellent bubble and  the plastic base makes mounting the stones very simple. They may be siliconed  directly to the tank bottom and hoses can be run out of the way of net dipping  operations. Alternative to siliconing, holes in the sides of the base would  permit screwing the stones down. At this time, we are experimenting with a Micro bubble Plate  Diffuser manufactured by Point Four Systems, Inc., Port Moody, British  Columbia, Canada. A distributer in the U.S.A.  is Aquatic Eco-Systems, Inc., Apopka,   Florida. These plates produce a  bubble very similar to the Wilfley Weber stone: very acceptable and easily  dissolving in water. The major difference with this stone is the base. It has a  one piece 3 inch aluminum bottom and sides with 2 inch aluminum end plates. The  end plates and stone are epoxied in place and the base is coated with an epoxy  paint. Again, this stone may be siliconed or screwed down. We have purchased 12  inch models and hope that with the aluminum base and shorter length, these  stones will not warp. They appear to be more rugged; however, at this time we  have no evidence either way. The 12 inch stones run $146.00 each and 24 inch  stones run $245 each. **Harvesting Channel Catfish:** Draining a pond to harvest channel catfish can be stressful  on the animals, especially during times of low oxygen. Therefore, as soon as  small catfish are placed in the pond, they are hand fed in one spot only. Feed  is not spread around the pond. This encourages all the fish to eat at the same  time in the same location. The starting location is in or near the kettle. As  the fish acclimate to the feeding regime the feed is moved (over the period of  several weeks) to a favorable seining bank. This is generally a corner of the  pond deep enough for a ball of catfish to feed without fear but shallow enough  for a man to wade in without going over his head. Although the procedure has been  done on straight banks, it is not as successful. At the time of harvest, the standard feeding procedure is  initiated while workers pull a 60 foot seine. The seine team remains very quiet  and somewhat out of sight of the pond during the initial feeding. When the  feeder believes he has most of the fish in a ball and feeding vigorously, the  seine team wades in behind the fish and traps them in the corner. Pitch forks  are then used to hold the seine on the bottom, and using the pitch fork  handles, keep the top of the seine above the water. A crane mounted on a pickup  truck along with a gooseneck trailer hauling tank is pulled into place on the  bank. These were brought from some distance away to keep from spooking the fish  during the initial seine. Now a 30 foot seine is run just inside the standing  60 foot seine. The small seine is pulled in and the fish loaded on the truck.  Eventually, the 60 foot seine is pulled in and the last of the fish caught are  loaded. Often, it is possible to harvest 80% or more of the fish  during the seining. As little as 100 lbs. of fish have been harvested during a  draining after a successful seine. The benefits of seining include a reduction  of the stress on the fish and the amount of trash pulled in with the fish is  also minimal. This harvest also reduces the amount of mud the crew must work  in, as the banks are generally very clean, whereas the area in front of the  kettle is generally several inches deep in fish waste. Also, the crew is not  rushed after the 60 foot seine is in place, as the fish are not under stress.  Smaller loads can be taken and the fish arrive at the raceway in better  condition. **Counting Fry:** Difficulties involved in counting channel catfish fry are  numerous, ranging from injury to the animals to inaccuracy in large counts. A  method which has met with some success at this hatchery is the use of volume  rather than weight. When the fry first hatch out of the eggs and are being moved  to the rearing trough, the following procedure is used. A graduated cylinder is  placed into a larger bucket. A small siphon hose is used to siphon the fry into  the graduated cylinder. The small hose keeps the water flow low enough such  that the fry are not forced out of the top of the cylinder. The bucket is  insurance against the loss of fry. When either the cylinder is 50% full or all  fry are collected, the hose is pulled from the cylinder and the volume of fry  is quickly read. The fry generally stay "packed" in the bottom of the  cylinder for a minute or two before beginning to swim up. The number of fry per  ml can then be estimated by doing a sample count of several ml's. This procedure reduces the stress on the fry considerably as  they are constantly bathed in fresh water as others are being collected, there  are no net related injuries, and the sample counts can be small enough that any  fish injured in the count will be inconsequential to the total harvest. **Improving Fee Fishing Operations:** **Submitted By: MTAN** Accept all major credit cards. People will tend to spend 10%  more when credit cards are used. Adjust your fees so people are charged some amount for each  hour they are fishing and charge "by the inch" for all fish they  catch. It may not be a good idea to charge "by the pound" or your  customers may tend to compare this amount to the market price. Remember, you  are also selling the outdoor/family experience and providing an educational  tool for future anglers. Fix all obstacles on the property, even those little trip  hazards that you have long since taken for granted. Rear different species and different sizes of fish to catch. To improve the taste of your fish consider the following: If  your fish exhibit soft meat after being cooked it may be due to a poor diet or  warm water rearing conditions. If your fish taste "muddy" it may mean  poor pond cleaning practices. Dirt ponds should be drained each year and  cleaned out. If your fish show excessive fin wear it could mean the loading  densities are to high or the quantity of food given to the fish needs to be  increased. If you rent fishing poles be sure to only use non-casting  poles (cane type poles). Provide picnic tables and a clean campground area for your  customers. **Earthern Rearing Ponds:** Are you tired of falling on your face each time you attempt  to climb out of your ponds? Why not construct a rope style ladder to help get  your tired body up those slippery pond walls. Even a conventional ladder will  work. How are you transporting fingerlings from the rearing pond  to the hatchery building? You may find it helpful to mount a small rearing tank  on the top of the side walls of your truck bed. Then cut a three inch hole on  one end of the tank for a PVC discharge line. The elevated tank will allow  sufficient gravity flow to quickly drain the tank. **Walleye Rearing:** Paint the sides of your inside rearing tanks a dark color,  but don't paint the bottom of the tank. The color variation will stimulate the  fish to begin taking food earlier and thus improve survival rates. **Yellow Perch Rearing:** According to a recent presentation given at the 1998  Wisconsin Aquaculture Conference, pond culture is much more economical than  recirculating systems. Given the same amount of fish, it would require an  investment of $275,000 for a recirculating system and $140,000 for a pond  system. Another good piece of advice was to hand feed your outside ponds 2  times each day (dawn and dusk). Perch will seldom eat during the light of day. **Oxygen:** The diurnal oxygen cycle in outdoor ponds should be well  understood because the delicate balance of dissolved oxygen vs. the rate of  oxygen consumption can shift rapidly with changing algal, temperature, and wind  conditions. Oxygen changes are the MOST IMPORTANT values to monitor. Measure  oxygen after altering water flow rates, feed levels and when developing new  fish rearing systems. Unfortunately, no one can just look at the water and know  the oxygen level. Oxygen can only be measured with a test kit or, more  conveniently, with an oxygen meter.   **Return
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