Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi ya'll

..wondering if Quaill bird droppings will kill tilapia

just brought in some Quaill birds and i didn't have the correct wire mesh to make a cage, they roamed around and of cos poo into my FT.

so i ended up with 4 'casualty' this morning when i did my routine.

checked immediately all parameters -

Amm,no2,no3 and pH

Amm - 0
no2 - 0
no3 - 0
pH - 7.6

check before and after feeding and 5 hours later ...all results are the same.

so............... Quaill dropping no no ?

omg ..have to re-type - system error ?

additional info

my system is 3000 lt FT with 20 x 135 lt GB - approx 2200 lt - not filled to the max of cos.

have 30 koi - about 4 " average and 130 tilapia - about 4 " or thereabout - seller do not sell 50 or 70 that i wanted - so ended up with more than 100 ...have to find ways or harvest some earlier.

my pump is 250 lt/min --- not per hour and re-directed i think about half back into FT as venturi .

and the return with Siphon kicked up a big storm all the time so i think DO is not an issue here unless i am very wrong.

..
I would be thinking gut pathagens / bacteria.. the fish may have eaten droppings..

Only assumption, .. of they were happy for a good time and then died after the quail incident, then there must be a link..
..
.

This is just a guess but birds don't pee like we do, instead they excrete uric acid along with their feces. Uric acid breaks down into ammonia and I'm not sure what would happen in the gut of a fish that ate this . Considering Tilapia I wouldn't be surprised if they ate some of the bird poo, whether this is what killed them, I don't know.

another issue will be like this.

i will be adding GB,but then since i do not have enough space in my 'enclosure' where all my current systems is,i have to place some GB outside my enclosure.

so,there are plenty of birds around.

then...bird poo will come into the system ...

back to this problem of deaths again ?

If you had them in a cage directly above the fish tank, and all the poop went into the fish tank, I'd say it's an issue. But just random wandering and pooping into the fish tank, I'd doubt it.

I wouldn't recommend it, but chinese aquaculture people put chickens above the fish tanks, the birds poop, and it encourages algae blooms, that the fish can feed off. I don't think they'd do it if the fish died from eating a bit of poop. (Saying again, not recommended).

How did the fish look after death? Flared gills? Cotton wool substance? Belly that looks empty? White specs over the fish?

ah... do not know how to describe it.

and didn't take any pics.

but added in 2 air pumps for additional DO.


maybe will add in 1 more later once i have the time.

the quaill cage will not be on the FT.

it will be on a tub - trying to attract BSF . so quaill will 'feed' the BSF

+1 - I think Colum has this right. I've had sparrows and finches around the grow beds and no problems other than them wanting to shread the kale or chard. By the way I don't know if quail like kale but chickens just love the stuff. They used to free range chickens out in kale fields around here back in the 1930's. There may be limits on how much of their diet it can be so it might be worth researching and looking at for your quail if they like it.

edit: It apparently also improves egg quality although mine are still to young to be sure

if your system is still young it could cause an ammonia spike.