12 replies to this topic

[hitman]

hi all i was just wondering if it is possible to breed yabies in a pond and what sort of filtration and habbitat will they need
if you could let me klnow if they have a seasons and or are specific needs to survive

thanks sam

[Bowdy]

my uncle used to breed them in a 4ft tank, have a heap of pvc pipe and bit of wood in there not sure you will need sand gravel ect. there just like a big blue cherry shrimp

[hitman]

thanks mate well my pond is gonna be about 800mm wide x 4 m long so its plenty big enough im just worried about what filtraition and wether they need a heater cuz the pond is clearly outside it will cost too much to heat it

[Bowdy]

farmers dams arnt heated mate

[hitman]

ok thanks that is a damn good point

[Juls]

Why not breed native gilgies or koonacs instead of introduced pests (that should be noxious) like yabbys.

Juls

[hitman]

i did a quick search on google is a koonacs a marron or is it related to the marron family

thx

[Juls]

They are both cherax family, marron are bigger and grow slower and are protected.

Koonac are closer to yabbys in appearance, but are more rare than gilgies to find. Gilgies are black and slightly smaller. Both are dead easy to breed.

Both are easy to catch with chicken pellets or cat biscuits. Either can survive year round in a pond as long as it doesn't get too hot (35 deg plus) or wastes don't build up. They will just get out of the pond if they are not happy.

Check freshwater.fish.wa.gov.au for locations. Although gilgies are found almost everywhere there is water.

Juls

[Evil_Boof]

i have heaps of koonacs in the river that goes through my property, great little animals to put in a tank, there colours are insane

[ice]

We used to breed them at tafe very successfully in 2mx50cm deep ponds filled with 20cm cut lengths of pvc pipe for the adults and tied up filded shade cloth bundles for the young. If you are catching them yourself try to get fewer males than females so you have less fighting and loss of tasty claws.

They are fussy eaters so its a good idea to have a good mechanical filter (sponges that are cleaned every few days) before a normal pond style bio filter. That should do the trick. It might be a good idea also to add some small natives like pygmy perch to eat up any small insects, mozzy larvae etc that make their way into the pond.

Dont even bother with plants as they will just be destroyed and eaten.

Good luck!

[hitman]

Thanks all for your help I have beet doing much research and you guys are all spot on the mark I am just worried with the whole hibernating thing should i add a layer of gravel/sand for them to burro into

Thanks all

[ice]

We never used gravel or sand as its just another thing to clean and isnt really required to keep them happy. Personally i wouldnt bother. They wont hibernate mate i've caught yabbies out of water in the southwest on mornings where the grass is literally frozen and the water wouldnt be too far off haha.

[Juls]

They only hibernate if there water dries up and there isn't more nearby. Nothing to worry about.

Juls