Fish in aquaponics gardening will not only provide nutrients for the vegetables you are growing, but they also provide you with a tasty food (rich in protein and omega 3s).
You can also make extra income selling aquaponics fish apart from having your own nice grown vegetables.
There are many types of fish you can use for aquaponics gardening. The question is how to choose a perfect species for your aquaponics gardening. Read this and please keep this in mind.
· Different type of fish will have different requirements, an optimal temperature and pH ranges.
· Some of the species will be able to grow in large population density, while others may need more space for them to live.
· Some of the fishes can be mixed with another while some of them must live within their own species.
· Some of the fishes grow really fast while some of them are not.
Please choose wisely.
Now, let us take a look at popular fish for aquaponics gardening. You can choose this two types of fish based on your living area.
If you live in a warmer area, please choose tilapia since they grow best at temperatures of 82° to 86°F and start dying if the temperature drops below 50°F.
Why do they die?
This is because, at temperatures below 54°F, tilapia lose their resistance to disease and are prone to infections.
I live in a cold area. Can I still use tilapia for my aquaponics gardening?
Of course, if you live in cold areas but keep your house heated, you can set up an aquaponics system in a room and still grow tilapia.
Tilapias are particularly suited to aquaponics gardening because they are very hardy and will survive fluctuations of pH and waste build-up better than most other fish. In addition, they can grow well in crowded tanks, and grow quickly.
The other type of fish you can use in a warmer area is the catfish. Catfish grows best at temperature of around 80°F and are very resistant to disease and parasites too. The bad news is they are sensitive to the oxygen level. If you want to use catfish in your aquaponics systems, please make sure you have a good aerating system.
If you live in colder areas, you can choose trout. Although different trout species have slightly different requirements, most have an optimal range of 40° to 65°F.
Like tilapia, they grow fairly quickly and make tasty food.
Below are the fish recommended for aquaponics gardening with some helpful sites for information regarding the species.
Yellow Perch www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/3jyperch.htm
Channel Catfish www.farminfo.org/aquaculture/chancat.htm
Hybrid Striped Bass www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/species/swh/swh.htm
Northern Crayfish www.aquanic.org/publicat/state/il-in/as-500.htm
Largemouth Bass www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/species/lmb/lmb.htm
Smallmouth Bass www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/species/smb/smb.htm
Goldfish members.aol.com/sirchin/goldfish.htm
Try to make some research before deciding what to use in your aquaponics systems.
To discover how to get the best yields and fish growth rates for you aquaponic systems, check out Aquaponics 4 You
