My Less Than 3rd World Hatchery

During Christmas break from school a couple of ears ago, my wife Ok Sun (pronounced Oak Soon) and I decided to take another step in our business and start hatching out Tilapia, which we could grow out and sell as fingerlings to other farmers, and as food fish for sell on our farm. We call it our Less Than 3rd World Hatchery because it was built from scratch with a lot of sweat equity, recycled materials, Home made equipment and no assistance from the U.S. Government. Fine with us, we don't want their fingers in the pie, it's pretty thin already. As I have stated before, I don't do debt, so our farm is completely paid for including all equipment and stock. when the economy went sour for most folks in America, it didn't really hurt our production model, except for a 300% feed price increase. However Our customers, the majority of which are beholding to the financial institutions of America, were hurt severely. Most of the fish farms where I had hoped to sell fingerlings are no longer in business. Our farm gate customers (walk in individuals) slowed considerably and the cost of production couldn't be offset by the amount of business for Tilapia, or compete with cheap (Safe?) imported fish. Even though our fish were live when purchased vs frozen and shipped from wherever, and the cost was only about 20% higher, customers opted for rancid over fresh. What's a country boy going to do? We locked the door and will re-open when the economy rebounds. We considered trying to get a government contract to provide fish for state and congressional dinners, but that would be like selling to ourselves because, you know they would tax us to cover the cost. Anyway enough of the whining, here are a few pics of the hatchery and tilapia.

These are our breeders, they are quite small, around 450g, we still get about 100 eggs per female per week.

These tiny fish are just days old, they are from a single brood and are ready to be transferred to a tank

These fish are between 3 weeks and 5 weeks old, they will stay in this tank fore about 4 months

These fish are about 2-3 months old, really starting to eat more and grow faster

The Pastor and some ladies from church were over for dinner, these guys were the guests of honor, about 1.5lbs each.

What do a Wal-mart swimming pool and our grow-out tanks have in common? They are identical. 600 fish in here.

A little emergency evacuation of ammonia gasses, and infusion of oxygen

A little about the farm

I thought I would give a few highlights of my life as a fish farmer. In 2004, my wife and I purchased some land in NC with the intent of developing it into a commercial fish farm. Being adverse to debt, we did the majority of the labor ourselves during our home time from truck driving, approximately 7 days per month. We cut trees, dug stumps. burned brush, put up 1/2 mile of chain link fence, sunk 2 wells, rented equipment and dug 5 ponds, ran electrical power, and 700 feet of 3" pipe. It took us 4 years before we finally had fish on the place. there were a lot of ups and downs, it is defiantly not a business for the timid. We stocked the farm with channel catfish, hybrid bream, and hybrid striped bass. Over the years we have expanded to include blue catfish, a few accidental koi, and lotus (nelumbo nucifera). We tried a few american eels, and some red swamp crayfish, that didn't work so well. Raising fish seemed like a good plan when we started, we have learned much over the years about the complexity of the process of rearing fish, and presenting those fish to the market. We're no great success but, we do good. Here are a few pictures of the farm (Carolina Coves). I will definately touch on the subject of fish farming from time to time as it really interests me so much.

It's 5:00 AM, That is my wife anchoring the end of a net that

has corralled 900 3lb catfish. We are moving them to our fish out pond.

This is a "Georgia Giant" hybrid bream

It weighed in at a hefty 1lb 

This "Chanel Cat" was a decent 7.5lbs

Around here we call that "Medium"

For perspective, that table is 26" wide.

Customer with a nice catch. 

We occasionally have catfish that are missing pigment, causing albinism.

This lady holds our farm record for catching them, 4.

Personal policy, automatic release after photos. 

 Our Pastor and his family, enjoying a day on the banks.

 My wife helping the pastors wife land a big one.

 We often have this combo, grandfathers showing the 

boys how it's done.

My friend Dean, brought this young man on his first fishing trip.

He dresses the part.

On occasion, Idiots run up against mother nature, she wins every time.

We had a pond that was heavily stocked, and procrastinated on moving some of the fish to our fish out pond.

Weeks of hot weather and a sudden cold rain storm cost us about 4,000 lbs of fish.

We were able to give away 2,000 lbs before they died, and this bunch was converted to fertilizer for use on our gardens. Nasty business often times.

Nest post; The Hatchery, Tilapia

I looked at the Blogging Community

Wow! Eye opener for me. I have a degree in Computer Technology, I am a network, security, and maintenance guy. I don't claim to be an internet Guru as far as applications are concerned, not even close. I don't use many applications beyond Microsoft Office and some network tools. Yesterday, after I made my initial posts, I decided to further investigate the blogging world. I was blown away by the diversity of topics blogged about, and the creative thought that people from around the world put into their blogs. The page design aspect alone was awesome,  As you can see I just popped up a standard template and went for it. I'll have to work on that.
I still have a lot to learn about the blogging world, but I do believe I will enjoy the journey. I'm really looking forward to meeting so many of you through your blogs, and learning from you all the intricacies of blogging

Things that "Push My Button"

There are many things in this world that irritate me, most of which are trivial, a great many I can do nothing about, and some that I can. Here are a few.

1. People that refuse to take responsibility for their current station in life, or their future.
2. People that refuse their moral responsibility to provide for the children they bring into this world, I don't mean signing them up for welfare programs, I'm talking about nurturing them and preparing them for adulthood.
3.People that are ignorant, and prefer to live their live that way. They can do as they please, it just irritates me because by remaining ignorant, they fail to acquire the skills needed to be a productive member of society and by default, become a burden to society.
4. People who campaign for public office on a platform of representing the best interests of their country yet once in office, they act only for their own self interests.
5. Political correctness.
6. Anyone who attempts to force their personal beliefs on another.
7. The failure of the justice system to curb illicit activities that undermine the nations ability to progress.
* I'm seeing a pattern here, seems like people are involved with things that tick me off.
8. Hunting, when done strictly for sport.
9. Most advertising campaigns, or their vehicles.
10. Idiots that think Hollywood should dictate all aspects of life in America, and especially those in Hollywood that agree with said idiots.

OK I'll shut up now.

List of things that I find enjoyable.

I enjoy chatting with my wife over a simple meal, I love seeing her smile.
Sometimes she should beat me severely about the head and shoulders for doing something stupid, I love the fact that she doesn't.
I find satisfaction in solving complex problems, complex for me at least.
I am fascinated with the science of aquaculture, hydroponics, beekeeping, and flight.
Although I whine about how our pets tie us to the homestead, I love them all, and miss those that have passed from this life.
I love the way dogs will place their trust in you without hesitation, and if you break that trust, they will always give you another  chance.
I find people fascinating on a cultural level and even more so on an individual level.
I love how young children view the world around them.
I admire teachers that are truly educators, not simply passing on information, rather inspiring one to learn.
Of all the countries in the world I have visited, I have found South Korea to be one of the most intriguing, simple yet complex, hanging in an era where old meets new.
I love foods from around the world, I love preparing meals from around the world, just how I am.
I enjoy a simple life and hanging out with others that don't use "stuff" to symbolize their existence.
I will take a well written book over a movie or television show every time.
I enjoy travelling in my mind, strange place that.

I venture carefully into the world of Blogging. I wish me well.

Hello, and thanks for visiting.
This is my first post of my first blog. I have no idea where this blog will lead or what the majority of the content will be about. I haven't actually decided upon a theme I am merely going to post my thoughts on current events around the world, some reflections on past events, and most likely some in depth postings on things that I really enjoy. I would appreciate your help in deciding which course to take as I develop this blog, feel free to drop me a line and share your "Two Cents".  I am no one important. No more or less important than the next man or woman on the planet. Much less important than any child. I have already decided that my next two posts will be lists. One shall be a list of things that I really find interesting and things I enjoy being a part of. The other will be a list of things that really set me off, things that cause me to wonder why people act and believe as they do.

Here is a short Bio, I was born in 1957 (Told you I was old). We had an extremely large family and were dirt poor by any standard. Moved around the United States as a child. I joined the military at the age of 17 and retired at 37. That was an awesome 20 years, I saw the world and some sights people only dream of, met some wonderful people. I drove a tractor trailer for several years and got a better glimpse of america. Built a farm where I raise fish and do a wee bit of gardening. I am currently in Iraq as a contractor helping with the military effort here. I enjoy a good challenge and simple things in life, I hope to return to Asia some day and work in the field of computer networking.