Guest Sundancefisher Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 my brother in law had a great looking rainbow that he took from a small soon to dry out pond on the side of the bow 2 years ago. It made it to about 6 inches before it died. I would mention that the most important thing about keeping a trout is when you no longer want it...absolutely do not release it back into the wild. It may have diseases. Kill it quick. Cheers Sun Quote
troutman Posted September 25, 2008 Posted September 25, 2008 years back I noticed a good sized rainbow trout in a coy pond at west ed mall. I would have guessed it was a good 18" but fairly slender. The pond it self is big (the one outside the T&T supermarket for anyone who knows the mall) and some of the coy in there are huge as well. I kept and eye on it for probably almost 2 years and then it suddenly disappeared. It was interesting to watch it and it clearly did not care for the coy, it was larger than most of them and was fairly aggressive if any came too close. It tended to hang out in one particular section of the pond and was almost always within 2 feet of 2 or 3 different spots. It was fairly tame and I was able to brush a hand along it a few times. Pretty cool really and I was disappointed to find it gone. I could see it being pretty neat to have some in a tank. There are some big trout in a fish pond at Devonian Gardens in Calgary. Quote
Brownstone Posted November 3, 2008 Author Posted November 3, 2008 Well, after a long busy summer which included a new house and a new job, I finally got around to setting up the trout tank. 125 gal tank with two rainbow trout one 6" and one 8". They have been in the tank for about a month or so and are doing very well, living on a diet of high protein fish pellets and and even more feeder crickets, (it's so cool watching them pound the crickets off the surface). They are the newest addition to the family and provide great motivation watching them from my tying desk. I hope to post some footage of the fish feeding in the future. A special thanks to board member Bobr whom without none of this would have been possible..I hav'nt forgetten my friend I still owe you big time. Quote
admin Posted November 3, 2008 Posted November 3, 2008 Looks like a great set-up and the fish look well fed. Have you tested any flies on them yet? Quote
Brownstone Posted November 3, 2008 Author Posted November 3, 2008 Looks like a great set-up and the fish look well fed. Have you tested any flies on them yet? no fly testing as of yet, although I have a feeling those two will hit what ever you put in/on the water .. however Ive been fooling around with crickets on a string (trying to condition them to eat from my hand) .. and they won;t go near it if its not dead drifted Quote
Weedy1 Posted November 4, 2008 Posted November 4, 2008 What did you end up doing for a chiller and filtration system and did you have to let the tank establish itself for long prior to introducing the fish? Quote
Brownstone Posted November 4, 2008 Author Posted November 4, 2008 What did you end up doing for a chiller and filtration system and did you have to let the tank establish itself for long prior to introducing the fish? After some research, I found that in a basment setting in our climate a chiller should not be nessesary, I turned off the heat to the room in the basement and even in July when I filled the tank and began it circulating the temp reached a max of about 65F. For filtration Im running two Fluval 403 canister filters which will do about 300 gph each, the water has been nothing but crystal clear and Ive yet to clean the filters since the fish have been in there,ammonia & nitrate levels are non-exsistant. I circulated the tank for about 2 1/2 months, conditioning it with beneficial bacteria (cycle) and nothing else. The fish started eating about 10 days after introducing them and now seem to have an insatiable appetite, I usually only feed them once every other day. Quote
Brownstone Posted February 11, 2009 Author Posted February 11, 2009 finally got around to uploading a video... Trout Video Quote
Suntoucher Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 Nice video, thanks for posting that. So what was the hatch? Quote
Brownstone Posted February 12, 2009 Author Posted February 12, 2009 So whats next ?Caddis larva. Tried a few caddis larve from the river, they don't travel so well (dead within 30 min) next attempt will be with oxygenated water, nymphs, leeches and crane fly larve travel very well in a Timmies cup and the trout love them. Quote
FlashGordon Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 that is sooo freakin cool,that's better than tv!! neat how one guy was chowin down and the other paid no attention....is that one trout always that aggressive or do they each have their aggressiveness depending on moods or whatever,do you have them named?....is it,the set-up and the fish,high maintenance? good job,i'm jealous Quote
darrinhurst Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 That's so cool! Better than the typical fish tank! Quote
Brownstone Posted February 12, 2009 Author Posted February 12, 2009 that is sooo freakin cool,that's better than tv!! neat how one guy was chowin down and the other paid no attention....is that one trout always that aggressive or do they each have their aggressiveness depending on moods or whatever,do you have them named?....is it,the set-up and the fish,high maintenance? good job,i'm jealous Thanks RH, the larger fish is aggressive, it grabbed my thumb one day when i was messing around with a power head and it will eat worms right out of my hand, the smaller one, not so aggressive and pretty shy. I had to seperate the two a few weeks back, to keep things fair and civil during feeding the large fish was being to be aggressive towards the small one, which I totally expected after awhile. didn't name the fish since these two are just a trial run, I plan on raising Arctic Char or Brookies pending availabilty in the spring, although I have become attached to them. the set up & fish are suprisingly very low maintainace, I run two Fulval 403 canister filters whcih combined do approx. 600 gal/hour, and a 300 gph powerhead at the opposite end to maintain water movment, solid waste from trout is fairly large so does not settle into the rock/gravel bottom and moves well to the filter intakes. since I set it up in july, the water has not given me any problem with ammoina or nitrates what so ever. Feeding consists of mainly superworms and crickets, I'll flip rocks on the river and bring home treats occasionally, there are still a couple leeches living in the tank I see from time to time, they must of found refuge in the rocks before becoming a meal. Quote
MMAX Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 Looks good Gregg. You won't have any problems with ammonia or nitrates, the tank is well established with good bacteria by now. Do you ever do water changes and what kind of water do you use? In the past year I've began keeping salt water fish and inverts and if it wasn't for them I'd definately try what you're doing. Quote
Brownstone Posted February 12, 2009 Author Posted February 12, 2009 hey Mike, I try to do a 25-30 % water change with a quick vacuum every 3-4 weeks, but have been slipping on it a little since I've gotten busy in the field but with no noticable changes in water chemically or visually. Ive been thinking about getting a salt tank for the better half so she could have some of the "pretty" fish she sees in pet stores. shoot me a PM next set of days off and maybe we can get together to check out the different set ups. Quote
troutlover Posted February 12, 2009 Posted February 12, 2009 coolest thing iv'e seen this year. Quote
MMAX Posted February 13, 2009 Posted February 13, 2009 I'm on days off right now, I go back to work on the 17th. Quote
Brownstone Posted February 13, 2009 Author Posted February 13, 2009 I'm on days off right now, I go back to work on the 17th. I don't plan on getting back till march sometime..I'll be in touch Quote
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