TA Aquaculture
Newsletter No.2
February 2008

The flake foods we pack under license from the USA & other countries are finally starting to make an impact. We know they are fantastic quality & really fresh. Many are produced to our order & in some cases we take all the 'run'.
The Brine Shrimp flake supply problem we had was due to a boiler failure used in the manufacturing process. We apologise to customers for delays in sending orders out. To be honest we were taken by surprise. This flake was a little slow but suddenly everybody wanted it.
It should be borne in mind that these highly specialised flakes are not in mass production & made in small batches. Sometimes the batch may be slightly different in flake size etc. The 'big boys' in food manufacture don't go here because they know it is extremely difficult to be consistent. We have close working relationships with producers & try to get the best quality we can for our customers.

Huey Hung filters too have been hard to get hold of in sufficient quantities but we have now taken steps to increase stock. The only model which gave us a headache was the Bio filter with the inner chamber. We think this is a fantastic little filter with great versatility & we have been hit with loads of orders. Our stocks quickly ran out.
The manufacturer informed us that they had stopped making this filter so no more will be coming in. The PW range shown below look really useful & we now stock these.

It was great to put the stand on at the Hayling Island event & meet some of our customers. We came home to e-mails from people who saw the quality of new feeds we deal with. In fact we were kept quite busy on Monday morning making up orders. We still get enquiries from the show - months on.
This was an example -
'After visiting the 'Festival of Fishkeeping' today, I came across your display/range of products. From taking a good look at the types of feeds you are supplying and the ingredients that these consist of I have to say I was very impressed'.
Hey Andy - I owe you a pint...
The Reef & Larval powder for fry has been out there for a little while & now I'm getting fantastic feedback from breeders. This isn't just a sales pitch. I started using it this year & purposely bred new Danio's & Rainbows - you know, the species with small fry. It smells really strong but that's good as it attracts fry to the food. In fact people came to the show specially to get more of it. At 5 microns this food is probably the smallest powdered feed you can find.
We put loads of small samples out to breeders to try out. We have special small containers coming in because that's what breeders are asking for.
Now we are getting it in in 7 grades up to 1mm. What a fantastic feed. Each grain is bio encapsulated with a tiny air bubble. It slowly sinks & mimics newly hatched brine shrimp. In fact breeders in the USA now feed this & cut back on brine shrimp hatches by 80%.

We go beyond the aquatic trade in sourcing new foods. Our contacts extend to commercial fisheries & shrimperies. We supply our brine shrimp eggs to these guys so we get the information on whats hot in the aquaculture industry.
The new GP foods are definately streets ahead of what you find off the shelf & you can get them now through the site. Don't let me feed the lot to my fish buy some off the site....

What about this - a brine shrimp net manufactured & used in Brazil. Alan was using these nets in the Peru collecting station this years trip & found them fantastic. Very deep nets. These have to be the Rolls Royce of Brine Shrimp nets. We have limited stock at the moment but hope to get these in as a regular item. The £3 price tag is well worth it considering the problems in getting them back to the UK. We are probably the only site advertising these outside South America - in fact I'm sure of it.

Endlers or Poecilia wingii as they are currently known as are fantastic fish. A new 'Pink' form has recently been brought into the UK with a pink/red colouration to the rear half of the body into the caudal fin. I've seen photos & they look good.
I've played around with Endlers for some time. They come from polluted waters in many cases. New collections are found from further afield now. I thought it a good idea to experiment. Fishkeepers should do this to gain knowledge. Early collections were in green water. I experimented with 3 forms - Snakeskin, Black Bar & Red Chest. The intensity of the 'neon' glow definately increased in heavy green polluted water. The red chest form was spectacular when taken out of water so green you couldn't see the fish. Colours were vibrant
It should be noted these were raised from newborns in this environment.

We are working hard on importing fish again & have made roads into South America with some freinds with export facilities. South America is vast area & many virgin areas exist. This is something we are keen to explore. We would welcome any bona fide traders interested in Peruvian stock.
We have other fantastic shippers in mind for future imports & have visited their installations in some cases.
Working on new fresh water capacity in the fish house with a flush through system. Hopefully I will put some photos on the fish house pages of the website shortly. We will have the capacity to change all the water in the our fish holding tanks every 48 hours. In stocking large amounts of wild fish with tanks undergoing treatment to clean up wild bugs this volume of fresh water in stock is vital.

The new building to house feeds & equipment is finished. With 4" (10cm) of insulation we can keep the room cool & maintain stocks at the best temperature. Fridges also in place to hold chill foods.

Also new in is the first batch of various suckers to stick just about anything to glass. Some new airline fittings also in to compliment our Algarde stocks.

The Brine Shrimp disinfectant sold out which is good for us selling it. Trouble was the agent stopped bringing it in so we were stuck for supply. We now have another import in which is slightly different but made by the same manufacturer. This is rated as a better product & we can get regular supplies. Currently we are testing it out in our fish house. It looks really good & adds essential nutrients to the hatching shrimp which has to be a good thing in putting the best foods into new fry.

Stick feeds are becoming popular. We are exporting loads now. Just had new batches in including the new liver stick. It does pollute the water so great care is needed in feeding but what a concentration of natural vitamins from A to B1,B2, B6, B12, folic acid etc. See the website for results on experiments in using this for infusoria cultures. We are just starting work on this.

We are just starting to gear up for the charity auction. Please visit the site regularly to catch up on our progress.

Tim