Jade perch
Scortum barcoo
Also known asBarcoo grunter
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 300 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 36% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.40% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.70% of body weight
- Max density
- 45 g per litre
A 800 g adult eats about 11.2 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~112 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | legal | Native species; no permit required for personal aquaculture in NSW verified 2026-05-13 |
| Queensland | legal | verified 2026-05-13 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Scortum barcoo, sold as jade perch and known in the wild as the barcoo grunter, is an Australian terapontid native to the inland Lake Eyre and Bulloo-Bancannia drainages, including the Barcoo River and Cooper Creek, with populations also in the Gilbert River of northern Queensland. It lives in turbid, warm river channels, waterholes, and floodplain lakes. The fish reaches about 50 cm at most, commonly 25 to 40 cm, and several kilograms, though it is usually harvested at 400 to 800 grams in culture. Its claim to fame is omega-3: a 1998 CSIRO study of some 200 seafood species found jade perch had the highest omega-3 content of the lot, roughly three times that of Atlantic salmon. The flesh is white, mild, and firm. Developed for Australian aquaculture in the 1990s, it is now farmed in Australia and China and has been taken up by aquaponics operations in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia as a specialty health-food fish.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- subtropical (tolerates mild cooling)
- USDA zones
- 9–13 (winter low around -7°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- yes
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A warm-water species with a real nutritional hook: among freshwater fish it carries exceptional omega-3 levels. The CSIRO figure is around 2,400 to 2,500 mg per 100 grams of flesh, far above the 200 to 500 mg of tilapia or catfish, though the content depends on diet and farmed fish on lower-fat feeds can test below the headline number. It grows best around 24–30°C, fastest near 26°C, within a tolerated range of about 12–34°C, and reaches food size in roughly eight to twelve months on a commercial pellet of 36 to 42 percent protein. Feed conversion is good, about 1.2 for fingerlings rising toward 1.6 to 2 at grow-out. It takes pellets readily, handles crowding and the regular disturbance of an aquaponics system better than most Australian natives, and is hardy and disease-resistant; keep dissolved oxygen above 3 mg/L, ammonia low, and stocking around 15 to 30 g/L. Fingerlings come from Australian hatcheries and, increasingly, from specialty suppliers abroad working with imported broodstock. Outside Australia it is a non-native that usually needs an import or aquaculture permit, so check local rules. The verifiable omega-3 advantage makes it a strong premium product for health-conscious buyers.