Fish Selection & Management

*Fish Tank Dimensions is Under 'Inventory & Fish Tank' division*

Group Objectives:
- Learn about the legalities of the transportation, management, and sale of live fish.
- Further knowledge about the maintenance and growth of live fish.
- Select fish species based on real world constraints.

 

Group Members:
Jacob: Jacob Gower <[e-mail]>
Ivan: Ivan Wutama <[e-mail]>
Ryan: Ryan Gilardy <[e-mail]>
Peter: Peter Swenson <[e-mail]>

 

Meetings / Discussions / Conferences

Discussion

*Added picture and description of California Roach ~ Ryan G

Gower, Jacob: May 3^rd 2017

It has been a while since I've done a proper update/report so here is the best state of affairs I can give. To standardize water quality for reproducing our experiment, the decision has been made to fill the entire tank using de-ionized water. That removes a lot of the problems for treating our local tap water and simplifies water treatment from the Fish Selection & Management's point of view to two things. The first is to make sure that enough Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is present so that the fish do not suffocate. We believe that the use of compressed air pumps will help keep gas levels regulated enough, but as there is not a lot of data about these kinds of pumps' ability to dissolve air into the water we are likely going to have to move forward and hope that they work well enough. The second problem is to make sure that we do not add anything toxic to the fish into the water. The Algae for nitrification should control the fish's waste problems well enough so the only remaining problem becomes pH management. For most freshwater fish keeping the preferred methods for managing pH is a carbonate (CO₃^2-) buffer system. Adding calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), the primary component of limestone, or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), also known as baking soda, should help with raising the pH. Addition of dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl) can be used in lowering the pH. There is currently concern from Plant Selection and Medium that using carbonate may solidify the aqueous calcium being used as a supplement in plant growth. More information will have to be gathered on the subject before a final decision is made. 

The second major change since the last full update is that we have once more changed our species of fish. After looking into California State laws regarding the consumption and or sale of grown fish it was determined that our system would have to be a proof of concept rather than an actual model for business use. As such we have determined that using a species of fish that is typically used for human consumption is no longer necessary. Making use of local resources available to us, we have come into contact with a Mr. Chris Miller of the Contra Costa County Mosquito & Vector Control to acquire our fish species. Mr. Miller breeds several different species of fish for placement in freshwater ponds to help control the mosquito population. We have been able to gather a few key pieces of information about the keeping of fish for our project from Mr. Miller. The first is that in his opinion, the species most suited to our experiment available to us would be the California Roach (Hesperoleucus symmetricus). The California Roach is a small and hardy fish that will be willing to eat lab grown fly larvae, making the acquiring of food more easy as our campus already has a supply of breeding flies. [Need to confirm the understanding that DVC Bio cannot support this, which was discussed @ the VF May 10^th meeting, and if so, explore other possible alternatives. Dr. R] They are also a schooling fish that will handle the high population densities of tank like better than most fish.

The fish are available for free for Contra Costa County Residents so someone from our project should be able to contact: 

Chris Miller: Email [e-mail]. Direct line (925)-771-6113. Cellphone (925)-260-3400.

Contra Costa County Mosquito & Vector Control District Office: Location 155 Mason Circle Concord, CA 94520. Office Phone [phone].

• Small chunky fish, usually less than 100 mm TL, rarely exceed 120 mm SL
• Large head, small downward turned mouth
• Coloration: body is usually gray to blue on top, silvery underside
• Spawning adults: may develop orange and red colorations on chin and paired fins
• Breeding males may develop series of nodes or tubercles on head
• Fin rays: dorsal 7-9, anal 6-8
• Lateral line scales: 47-63

California roach are capable of adapting to varying habitats from coastal streams to mountain foothill streams. They are predominately found in small warm streams but are capable of thriving in larger colder streams with diverse conditions. They may actually occupy several different habitat types within a single drainage. Extreme tolerance includes temperatures ranging from 30-35ºC and dissolved oxygen levels as low as 1-2 ppm. In-stream location may vary depending on geography and predators. When California roach share water with Sacramento pikeminnows, roach will stick to the stream margins, whereas in the absence of these piscivorous fish roach may venture into deeper pools. California roach are omnivorous and diet may depend on stream size and food availability. In smaller rivers roach feed mostly on filamentous algae, supplementing their diet with crustaceans and insects. In larger rivers these fish may focus on a diet of aquatic insects year round. The growth and development of California roach is largely seasonally dependent. Most growth occurs during the summer months and roach may grow 20-40 mm in a year. Most fish of this species reach sexual maturity at age 2-3 and rarely live beyond three years total. Spawning occurs in March through early July, and timing is temperature dependent. California roach breed in gravel beds or riffles where groups of females lay eggs on and into the substrate. One or two males follow each female closely to fertilize the groups of eggs. Each female may produce 250-2,000 eggs per year depending on body size. The eggs hatch in 2-3 days, but the larvae remain in the protection of the gravel substrate before emerging to swim.~Ref: UC Davis http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=18&ds=241

As more decisions are made based on available data I'll do what I can to write a bibliography with cited sources but this is the current state of affairs from the point of view of Fish Selection & Management.

Gower, Jacob: February 1^st, 2017
Regarding the legalities of acquiring and maintaining live fish in the state of California the Fish Selection Division of the Vertical Farming Project are left with few choices. By creating this project, we need to follow the laws of regulations of the area, which is California. According to The California Department of Fish and Game, an Aquaculture License is required to harvest fishes that will later be used for bait or human consumption. However, the license would cost us $829.75 for the initial registration and $521.50 for a renewal each year afterwards. Therefore, the fishes that we have will not be consumed and are strictly in a close system. This conclusion, is also supported by IL-35 Aquaculture in Inland Waters of California, which states that "The sale or cultivation of tropical species or ornamental aquatic plants or animals, not utilized for human consumption or bait purposes, but maintained in closed systems and utilized by the pet industry or hobbyists does not require an aquaculture license." The Vertical Farming Project set-up will be keep purely educational, that will be beneficial for educational purposes and cost efficient in the long run. So, as a team, we are leaning towards choosing Tilapia, as it is the easiest one to care for and give a desired amount of waste. However, our initial choice of Tilapia was found to be illegal outside of San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties with the exception of T. mossambica and T. hornorum, according to IL-35 Aquaculture in Inland Waters of California. As a result of research and discussion by Jacob Gower, the Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) was chosen as a suitable alternative for growing fish stock.

References & Bibliography:

1. Regulations Governing Private Stocking of Aquatic Plants and Animals (Non-commercial) 
2. INVERTEBRATES, FISH, AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IMPORTATION OF LIVE AQUATIC PLANTS,
3. AQUACULTURE IN INLAND WATERS OF CALIFORNIA
4. Article: an example of aquaponics growing Tilapia and using nitrosimonas / nitrobacter in coral tank:  Producing Organic Fish and Mint in Aquaponics
5. 2016 REGISTERED AQUACULTURISTS
6. Guide with Ten tips to keep in mind while designing aquaponic systems:
   10 GUIDELINES

 

Gilardy, Ryan

Through an interview with three biologists and the owner of the Concord Aquarium Store regarding fish selection. So far everyone has recommended using channel catfish. I was told  that the Sacramento Perch requires too much movement for our tank; Although, there may be a new species Sac. Perch created in a lab that is more docile and well suited but were not sure we have access to them. They did not feel the extra movement of water from our fish nutrient harvesting process would be adequate. 

The concerns about the channel catfish is that it will need to be in cooler murky water. We will have to emulate a 'bottom of the pond' environment for the catfish by filtering natural light. We may want to produce our own insects to feed the catfish because if they are feed a diet of food they would encounter in the wild then the fish will taste as close to wild as possible.

The main reason farmed fish don't taste as good as wild fish is because the fish are what they eat. Feeding farm fish the same generic food flakes everyday will produce a generic cheap tasting fish. We may not care about the taste and quality of fish and produce while were doing proof of concept but we really need to consider the fish food element when we are producing fish for consumption.

Living Condition of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) that needs to be consider:

Source: Channel Catfish Farming Handbook by Craig C. Tucker and Edwin H. Robinson

 

Gower, Jacob

Other reference pages for more information:

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en...page&q&f=false

 

Gilardy, Ryan

The difficulty of keeping the catfish species is not about keeping the heat up in the tank, however it is controlling the amount of algae with any fish tank inside a greenhouse. The easiest way to conquer this possible challenge may be by including another algae or we can go the route of using bacteria that eats the algae up. For the option, a little of the hair-like algae on the rocks is acceptable and could keep other algae at bay. However, if we go through the second route of using bacteria to break down algae they tend to increase CO₂ and cause acidification.  The option of using algae is also becoming more favorable with the fact that algae adjust faster than bacteria. With all the options and discussion, we need to begin testing the ecosystems first, before getting fish. If the Biochemistry and Plant Division can get the water tests done in time and obtain a proof of concept that we can control algae and chloramine nitrification, the fish selection will be next. 

Data (ALL STATUS: NULL - under construction)

Plans

Designs

Protocols / Methods

Experimental Results

Budget