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Quail Springs Farm

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Hi Desert Fish Project

Are Fish in the Desert a Dream?
 

Ponds and Pools for Fish and Other Creatures
At the Quail Springs Ranch, the County of San Bernardino allows us to have 4 ponds or pools, provided they are each no bigger than 1/2 an acre in surface size and each have no more than an acre-foot of water.  This is plenty of space for our operation.  Long term we would like to have a small 75' to 80' diameter pond with an average depth of 9 feet to host a portion of our fish, ducks and provide water for curious wild creatures.  For now we are content to experiment with above ground pools.

Optimum size.  Small shallow ponds and pond would no doubt get extremely hot in the summer.  Hence, we are first experimenting with small diameter ponds/pools that are 4' deep.  Figuring the optimum depth of the pools will take some experimentation.  It is really an engineering thing.  The most surface area, the more evaporative cooling but the more heat absorption.  The deeper the lake, the more thermal mass to keep it from getting too hot. 

The temperature of the lake intimately determine the type of fish that can be raised.  For example, Trout are an extremely marketable fish, but as a cold water fish and need 72 degree water.   Other fish can tolerate hotter water but are less marketable. 

Using pools to grow fish have other elements that must be considered.  Pools are normally very stagnant and thus a water fountain of some type need to be incorporated into the system to promote water circulation and aeration.  Also pools are also usually sterile systems (i.e. no aquatic plants, soil base etc) it is important not to overfeed the fish as this will cause algal blooms and oxygen problems.
 

Fish Selection: Bluegills, Trout, Goldfish  & Catfish?

Fish.  Rainbow trout are a popular fish to stock in farm ponds and pools as they are easily accessible, fairly hardy and an excellent eating fish with good angling characteristics.  Trout however are a cold water fish and thus only dams and swimming pools that reach a maximum temperature of around 72 degrees Fahrenheit are suitable.  Catfish on the other hand are bottom dweller, where the water in more cold because warm water rises.   Stocking rates for fingerling trout are around 100 fish per 1/4 acre.  Trout will usually reach a consumable size in around one to two seasons depending on water temperature and feeding.

Food. There are a number of commercial pellets available  from the stores.  As less natural food is present in pools, will need to be fed more frequently around  once a day.  Fish in ponds can be fed once per week if there is sufficient natural food present in the pond (ie water bugs, worms etc).

 

Mosquitoes
Female mosquitoes like to lay their eggs (about 100 to 300 at a time) in a dark spot in still water. The eggs then float on the surface of the water for about 48 hours before hatching into larva. The larva will live in the water for about 10 days eating tiny plants and animals. It then changes into a pupa that floats on the surface of the water for about two days before the adult mosquito emerges.   Mosquitoes in all there forms are food for the fish. 
 

More on Fish

 

 

Quail Springs Farm

  

 

Mile 3.0 miles up Park Blvd/Quail Springs Road
On the way to the main entrance to the park
Joshua Tree, CA 92252

 
Quail        
Coyote Ducks Fish Greenhouses Water

1.8 miles from the

Joshua Tree National Park - Main Gate