- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 1,804
- Location
- Clontarf, Qld
- Website
- nativebeehives.com
- Climate
- Sub-Tropical
I built a little pond using pine sleepers and a 3m x 4m pond liner. This is a bit of an experiment on a small scale. It's about 1300L. I have one of those small solar fountain pumps 200Lph, and also a small 240v pump (500Lph) on a timer that turns on and off throughout the day. I am getting a 12v pump to hopefully replace the 240v pump. I prefer 12v stuff because i can run it from my little off grid system. The pumps are to keep the water aerated.
My first plan is a micro Crayfish Farm. I have a couple of Crayfish in there at the moment, just to see if i can keep them alive before i get carried away with trying to grow more.
Crayfish tend to breed more when the water is warmer, and i could use a 240v fish tank heater, but i always have to go about things the wrong way first. I built a small parabolic water heater which was a bit half a*sed so it wasn't effective, and it hasn't helped having limited sunny days lately! I do have a small 30L evacuated tube water heater so i might try that next. It's probably not that important to heat the water, it's just an added extra really.
Some basic info about Redclaw Crayfish - redclaws are native to North Queensland, and are considered a pest in my area (south east Qld) and most other areas. They have invaded our dams, Somerset and others, lots of people trap them for eating, when you catch them in dams you have to keep everything catch, you are not allowed to return any, no matter how small because they are considered a pest.
Eating? They are great when boiled or bbqd. They are fairly tastless because they are a fresh water creature, you will have to add a fair bit of salt when boiled, and garlic and salt is great when done on the bbq. When boiling, you would cook just the short tail section. For the bbq, you can cut the crayfish down the center and stick them straight on the bbq.
I don't expect to be breeding huge amounts from a small 1300L pond but it will be an interesting experiment. I can imagine having a few people over for a bbq, walking over and plucking a few out of the pond, preparing them and straight on the bbq.
Note: if the crayfish fail, it might be a spa? or add some plants and fish.
My first plan is a micro Crayfish Farm. I have a couple of Crayfish in there at the moment, just to see if i can keep them alive before i get carried away with trying to grow more.
Crayfish tend to breed more when the water is warmer, and i could use a 240v fish tank heater, but i always have to go about things the wrong way first. I built a small parabolic water heater which was a bit half a*sed so it wasn't effective, and it hasn't helped having limited sunny days lately! I do have a small 30L evacuated tube water heater so i might try that next. It's probably not that important to heat the water, it's just an added extra really.
Some basic info about Redclaw Crayfish - redclaws are native to North Queensland, and are considered a pest in my area (south east Qld) and most other areas. They have invaded our dams, Somerset and others, lots of people trap them for eating, when you catch them in dams you have to keep everything catch, you are not allowed to return any, no matter how small because they are considered a pest.
Eating? They are great when boiled or bbqd. They are fairly tastless because they are a fresh water creature, you will have to add a fair bit of salt when boiled, and garlic and salt is great when done on the bbq. When boiling, you would cook just the short tail section. For the bbq, you can cut the crayfish down the center and stick them straight on the bbq.
I don't expect to be breeding huge amounts from a small 1300L pond but it will be an interesting experiment. I can imagine having a few people over for a bbq, walking over and plucking a few out of the pond, preparing them and straight on the bbq.
Note: if the crayfish fail, it might be a spa? or add some plants and fish.