Aquaponics Design DIY: Fish for Aquaponics

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Feeding Your Aquaponics Fish

Feeding your aquaponics fish is one of your daily tasks when running an Aquaponics system. It is vital for the fish and in turn essential for the production of plant nutrients. In this article we’ll talk about the what, when and how to feed your fish. We’ll also talk about using auto-feeders for the ones among you who like to automate life!

Most fish are not picky on feeding schedule; indeed in the wild there is no such thing as regular feeding. They will adjust their metabolisms and growth rates according to food availability. So if you want to grow fish quickly, simply feed them often. However, be careful with crowding because a population density which is too high will make the fish labile to disease outbreaks. With regards to the actual amounts of feed per feeding session, you should give them as much feed as they can eat within five minutes.

Many automatic feeders are available, differing in complexity and price. However, you can get simple cheap ones which will do the job just fine. You should set the feeding times at once or twice daily, possibly more if you want to grow fish quickly and have a low stocking density. Using an automatic feeder does not mean that you can stop checking on you system daily, because if you do, you won’t know if anything goes wrong with the system.

With regards to the actual feed, most people opt for commercial feed, which is an excellent choice. Commercial fee is either of the omnivorous or carnivorous type and these will differ in their quantities of protein. Check with your local fisheries department for the most suitable one for the particular fish species you are growing; though most fish thrive well on both. Feed also comes in different pellet sizes – you should get the small ones for young fish and larger ones as the fish grow bigger.

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Many Aquaponics gardeners grow their own fish feed to drastically cut costs. The most commonly grown of such feeds is duckweed, a fast growing plant that is rich in protein. You can grow this in a separate tank or pond. To provide more protein, you can also grow worms and black soldier fly larvae. You can also feed your fish some garden scraps. For example, most omnivorous fish will enjoy bland-tasting plants and vegetable, such as lettuce. Be careful that the plant-food you give to the fish is not covered in pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

Aquaponic Gardening Stocking Densities

The term of aquaponics stoking densities refers to the number of fish that need to be grown in the aquaponics systems fish tanks.

More fish in your aquaponics systems means more profit, however stocking too many fish will lead to ill health of both fish and plants. The fish will not grow as well and will start dying, and there will be a buildup of wastes which will be toxic to both fish and plants.

Therefore, you need to find the perfect balance of stocking as many fish as possible before this starts having an adverse effect on their growth.

The question is how to measure the stocking densities for your aquaponics systems?

If you are looking for a short answer on the Aquaponics stocking densities to use, then go for 1 fish

per 10 liters of water.

Now for the longer answer.

It is more accurate to talk about stocking densities in terms of kilograms of fish per cubic meter or liters of waters.

For most Aquaponics systems set-ups, you should go for 30 to 40 kg of fish per 1000 liters. Use this rule of thumb as a maximum number, and opt for a lower number if you are new to Aquaponics gardening.

Just keep in mind that apart from the stocking density, the amount of food you put into the tanks will also dictate how well the system runs – if you feed too much, there will be an accumulation of waste that the bacteria may not be able to handle.

Example:

The most common fish used in Aquaponics gardening is tilapia.

So let’s work out stocking densities in terms of tilapia.

When you buy 100 tilapia fingerlings, these may weigh a kilo combined. If we have a 1000 liter fish tank, then our current stocking density is 1kg/1000L. Tilapia grow quickly and soon enough they’ll weigh a combined total of say 40kg, giving us a stocking density of 40kg/1000L.

By using the rule of thumb of one fish per ten liters of water, then you’ll have to harvest the fish as soon as they’re big enough, or else you’ll end up with a stocking density which is straining the system.

Individual fish grow at different rates, and you should start taking out the large ones as soon as they’re big enough to eat.

Do not wait until all of them are big enough. This is actually a good thing, as you will have to harvest at a rate at which you can eat/sell them and not have to freeze a large quantity of fish.

You can actually harvest a single lot of fish over several months, as the rates of growth of individual fish are so different.

This applies even to fish species with particularly fast growing rates, such as trout.

Fish for Aquaponics Gardening

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.

Walleye www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/fish/stizostedionvit.html

Tilapia www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/alt-ag/tilapia.htm

Yellow Perch www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/3jyperch.htm

Lake Perch www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/yellowperch.html

Bluegill www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Fishing/aquanotes-fishid/bluegill.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