Digging My Pond

[TBWG]

Not sure from your post if in the end you actually put Tubtim in your pond. If you did I would appreciate an update in the future as to how they got on. Reason being Ii was advised that tubtim require different conditions to pla nin.

Thanks

TBWG

[Macx]

Bump

Well, after 7 months, our red-orange pond is finally turning green. The lemongrass along the bank is doing great, getting to the point of annoying me by keeping me away from the edge of the pond. A large population of frog has come to live on the pond and, unfortunately attracting some snakes.

As far as I can tell, we have three main types of fish in the pond (that I can see): pla sa wai, pla jara met and catfish (brownish type). I've caught plenty of the first two types, but haven't hooked a single catfish yet. I figure there are roughly 200 fish in our 800sqm pond.

All went from fingerlings to about 8-12inches in length within 5 months or so, and have eaten about 2400baht worth of fish food. So far, it's a lot of fun.

By July/Aug next year, I'm sure we'll bbq or fry the population down to under a hundred. I'd like to keep them around to see how large they can get, but I don't see how I could start another batch next season without the big fish eating all the new fingerlings.

Thanks for all the stories and advice.

[Maizefarmer]

DLock

I think you need to line the pond with plastic sheeting - else come dry season its all going to draining away on a regular basis.

[DLock]

DLock

I think you need to line the pond with plastic sheeting - else come dry season its all going to draining away on a regular basis.

Maize,

I do expect it to drop quite low. Luckily the klong next to the house runs all year and the deep well near the pond is good water... so hopefully it retains enough water....even if my electricty bill suffers.

Here are some pictures from today. The fish are doing really well and I have had no mortality. Tubtim seem to be growing fastest, although the Pla Duk are not far behind. The Pla Nin seemed to have thinnned out or eaten by the bigger fish, and the Pla Sawai are the slowest growers. The 4 turtles I've put it have never been seen.

Plants are all doing well. Ya Faek is especially hardy. Grass has also adapted well.

...and the dog loves it.

[ozzydom]

Hi DLock, the project is looking great , I would not worry about your stocks, it is quite within the ponds carrying capacity.

As the Pla Duk (Snakehead ) were introduced as juvenilles with the Pla Nin and Tab-Tim they would not have been able to eat your original stock but will most certainly be feasting on any offspring they produce.

Tiger Snakehead are a different matter as they grow very large very quickly and can devour 200-300gram Pla Nin

When you are pumping from the Klong to your pond ,I would suggest adding 5X 50KG bags of lime (Poon Kao )and about 7kg of 10-20-0 fertilizer to the pond ,this should help clean up the colour a bit and help initiate micro organism growth which the Pla Nin and Tab -Tim prefer as their primary food source , the lime through a chemical process allows a lot of the suspended silt particles to settle to the bottom .

The amount of lime suggested is only a starting amount as it is always a case of suck it and see ,just apply and await a few weeks for results to show then adjust as needed .

I place the lime and fertilizer in small blue mesh draw string bags ( about 2 foot x 1foot )most fishing net suppliers have them @abut 20 baht each ,just drive a pole into pond in front of the water flow from your pump, tie your bag to this and this will dissolve and distribute it around the pond.

The lime can be shovelled into a largish plastic container sat on the edge of the pond and your pump outlet directed into it ,the lime dissolves very quickly.

This small amount will not affect your ponds PH besides which the fish you are stocking tolerate a wide PH range.

Cheers mate

Ozzy

[DLock]

Ozzy,

Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer your advice.

Did I read that right at 250kg's of lime? Over what period would that be put into the pond? Is all lime the same?

How should the fertilizer be added? All at once or over a period of time? At the same time as the lime or no matter?

And what should be the timing for doing this again?

DLock.

[ozzydom]

Ozzy,

Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer your advice.

Did I read that right at 250kg's of lime? Over what period would that be put into the pond? Is all lime the same?

How should the fertilizer be added? All at once or over a period of time? At the same time as the lime or no matter?

And what should be the timing for doing this again?

DLock.

Yes mate 250kg over 1-1.5 hrs to let it distribute around the pond

No, you want agricultural lime as sold by fertilizer sales outlets ,not slaked lime as used in the building industry (thats the one they use to dispose of bodies ).

The phosphate can go in at the same time.

There is no set timing as just wait on the results and add again according to water changes. See what the results are of the initial dose and I will guide you from there.

[villagefarang]

Sorry to interrupt things here but had a question regarding lime. We put some in when the pond was first dug but have done nothing since (over 2 years). Our pond is about one rai and 5 meters deep with water coming from the surrounding fields and rain.

My fish are more like pets, though we do eat them form time to time. I thought about adding some lime to reduce the suspended silt but worry about its affect on the fish. Particularly the pla buk hanging out on the bottom. Our Tab-Tim didn't do so well but the Jaramet (spelling?) are huge as are some of the catfish.

Anyway, just thought I would ask.

Edited November 6, 2009 by villagefarang

[ozzydom]

Sorry to interrupt things here but had a question regarding lime. We put some in when the pond was first dug but have done nothing since (over 2 years). Our pond is about one rai and 5 meters deep with water coming from the surrounding fields and rain.

My fish are more like pets, though we do eat them form time to time. I thought about adding some lime to reduce the suspended silt but worry about its affect on the fish. Particularly the pla buk hanging out on the bottom. Our Tab-Tim didn't do so well but the Jaramet (spelling?) are huge as are some of the catfish.

Anyway, just thought I would ask.

As in all things ,moderation is the key, a simple PH test and a Google to check your particular varieties preferred PH.

When introducing lime as I suggested ,it will dissolve and any PH alteration will be pretty uniform throughout the water column.

It would take a significant amount of lime to alter the PH of your 8ooo cubic metre pond.

The chemical reaction between the added lime and the suspended matter which allows it to settle we find ,does not alter PH to much extent.

As an example, the upper reaches of the Mekong is PH nuetral =6.9-8.2 whereas the middle reaches where Pla Buk is native to is PH 6.2-6.5.

Edited November 6, 2009 by ozzydom

[jandtaa]

Hi folks

This PDF explains treating the turbidity of ponds fairly nicely. It deals with using alum or gypsum as the flocculating agents but you could also use the bucket method it describes to calculate the minimum quantity of lime necessary to clear the pond with a bit of adaptation.

turbidity.pdf

cheers for now J

[ozzydom]

Hi folks

This PDF explains treating the turbidity of ponds fairly nicely. It deals with using alum or gypsum as the flocculating agents but you could also use the bucket method it describes to calculate the minimum quantity of lime necessary to clear the pond with a bit of adaptation.

turbidity.pdf

cheers for now J

Personally ,I would urge caution if considering the use of aluminium sulfate to clear turpidity in ponds housing fish for human consumption . Aluminium sulfate is a well known snail killer and there is ongoing concern re aluminium in the food chain.

I have used AS in swimming pools where it is very effective,it ends up a glutinous mess on the bottom of the pool where it can be removed via your Creepy Crawly,but this facility is not available in an earthen pond.

It can also lower PH dramatically if not carefully applied.

[DLock]

Today I decided I couldnt wait any longer, so I jumped in my little plastic tub and went fishing on the pond.

I wanted to see if the fish would bite, and if I could hook a Pla Sawai or Pla Beuk. The only thing I caught was Pla Duk.

After about an hour I had pulled in about 6 or 7 fish, and despite them being quite small, it was a relaxing afternoon watching that little float bob up and down till something took it under.

The Pla Duk were all about 8 or 9 inches long. I didn't have a scale, so I have no idea what weight that would make them.

Ozzy, what do you think they would weigh?

Also some pictures of the Tab Tim feeding. When I went down to the boat, one of them was inside the boat, a good 12 inch leap out of the water. He was still alive and gasping for air. I held him back and forth in the water and eventually he swam away. Lucky fish...for now.

[ozzydom]

Looks to be about 300 gram mate, that is about the average market size.

There are several Pla Duk sub species and I cant identify which that is, they seem to be growing ok.

The pond we are harvesting at the moment is one that I purposely understock to get bigger fish for the rice harvest period, the Pla Nin are about the 1 kg mark ,so I got a little baitcastor with 3lb mono out ,pinched the barbs down with pliers and had a good bit of sport for a couple of hours using cooked sticky rice squashed into a tiny pellet as bait.

My "pet" 3 foot Tiger Snakehead has gone missing ,he either went over the wall when the flood topped that ponds bund wall recently or the poachers got him, I tend to think the prior as he demolished a few cast nets in his time, I guess he knew this year was to be his last ,now I wont know how those cutlets would have tasted.

[DLock]

Looks to be about 300 gram mate, that is about the average market size.

There are several Pla Duk sub species and I cant identify which that is, they seem to be growing ok.

The pond we are harvesting at the moment is one that I purposely understock to get bigger fish for the rice harvest period, the Pla Nin are about the 1 kg mark ,so I got a little baitcastor with 3lb mono out ,pinched the barbs down with pliers and had a good bit of sport for a couple of hours using cooked sticky rice squashed into a tiny pellet as bait.

My "pet" 3 foot Tiger Snakehead has gone missing ,he either went over the wall when the flood topped that ponds bund wall recently or the poachers got him, I tend to think the prior as he demolished a few cast nets in his time, I guess he knew this year was to be his last ,now I wont know how those cutlets would have tasted.

Ozzy,

I was wondering where I'd get barbless hooks from, but your idea of pinching the barbs is a great idea. I don't like to hurt the fish needlessly, so the hook will slide out easily and it gives them a fighting chance.

I have too many Pla Duk, so in a month or so, I'll invite some of the locals down for a fishing day.

[DLock]

It is all coming back to me now...when the guy dug the pond, he said that I should add "white cement" to the pond to clear it. At the time I was clueless when it came to ponds, but now it makes sense - he was recommending Lime to help clear the pond. I dismissed that idea pretty quickly at the time.

Well, I bought 11 bags of "Poon Kao" as thats all my local guy had. I paid 30 baht for a 10kg bag of agricultural lime. You can see just how much 110kg's are. It's a lot.

I then figured the best way to distribute the said Lime was to put it all in my plastic tub and spread it by hand to get it more even. So loaded up I paddled around spreading the Lime by hand, with my dog helping churn up the water.

Anyone thinking of doing the same...use rubber gloves. the skin on my hands is all peeling off and thats after a good shower right after liming. And dont wear any clothes you want to keep. The lime also destroyed my shorts and T shirt with stains.

Didn't really do much to the color - maybe a slightly milky brown. I have the extra 14kg and will add next week after I see how this lot did. Didn't seem to affect the fish.

[GarryP]

How's the pond clearing going.?

[MrMr]

How's the pond clearing going.?

Would love to see an update on how things are now and if the mix of fish used turned out to be a succes!

Thanks

[DLock]

The pond is doing ok, although the lack of rain has made the water level quite low.

I got permission by the local authorities to dig out the klong next to my land and although it hasn't flowed for 6 months, the deeper holes fill up with water overnight (probably partly seepage from my pond) and I pump some fresh water back in. Maizefarmer was pretty close when he predicted the water would seep away. Its about 1meter deep in the deepest parts.

The fish are doing well and many have found their way onto the BBQ at about 500grams. The striped catfish (Pla Sawai) don't get eaten, but they are growing the fastest and the best fish to catch.

The Tub Tim started as fast growers, but seem to have slowed and not growing as fast as the Pla Duk. My wife says that there are not many big Tub Tim around the markets at the moment, so maybe the lack of water has stunted their growth. Maybe Ozzy can comment.

I will get some photos, but the grass and vegetation on the banks has taken over a bit, but the water plants, mostly the lilies have suffered because of the drop in water.

I have only had one mortality and that was a catfish that tried to escape. Poor bastard made it as far as the fenceline.

Need some decent rain here as in most places to fill up the klong and raise the water table. Hopefully soon.

[ozzydom]

The pond is doing ok, although the lack of rain has made the water level quite low.

I got permission by the local authorities to dig out the klong next to my land and although it hasn't flowed for 6 months, the deeper holes fill up with water overnight (probably partly seepage from my pond) and I pump some fresh water back in. Maizefarmer was pretty close when he predicted the water would seep away. Its about 1meter deep in the deepest parts.

The fish are doing well and many have found their way onto the BBQ at about 500grams. The striped catfish (Pla Sawai) don't get eaten, but they are growing the fastest and the best fish to catch.

The Tub Tim started as fast growers, but seem to have slowed and not growing as fast as the Pla Duk. My wife says that there are not many big Tub Tim around the markets at the moment, so maybe the lack of water has stunted their growth. Maybe Ozzy can comment.

I will get some photos, but the grass and vegetation on the banks has taken over a bit, but the water plants, mostly the lilies have suffered because of the drop in water.

I have only had one mortality and that was a catfish that tried to escape. Poor bastard made it as far as the fenceline.

Need some decent rain here as in most places to fill up the klong and raise the water table. Hopefully soon.

Your spot on re the water level affecting your Tab Tim,s growth mate,less water means a smaller environment for their natural food (phytoplankton )to flourish.

Additional hand feeding is recommended at these times.

Plenty of large Tab,s in the market hereabouts as they come from net cages in the Mekong and are fed copious amounts of pellets.

Our own fish are doing great at present as we have good levels and temperature has cooled a bit,sales are slow as this is the time of low cash reserves for the locals (pre rice planting), the falangs are also feeling the pinch a bit with the poor currency exchange rates.

Rain is not far away so things can only improve .