Cyara's dream CHIFT PIST system

Cyara

Tilapia as aquaculture production fish

Bream (Tilapia) is a common name for a group of chichlidae fish species, which can be separated in two categories (genus’s), namely the mouth breeding or Oreochromis-species, and the non-mouth breeders or Tilapia-species. The females of the Oreochromis spp protect and nurture the eggs and fry in their mouthes, until they are large enough to be released in the wild. O. mossambicus, O. niloticus and O. aureus are the three main species of tilapia that are used in aquaculture systems.

O. mossambicus is indigenous to Southern Africa and is the preferred specie for aquaculture production in this region. This specie has its evolutionary origin in the Zambesi River Basin and has since spread Southwards through most of the warmer regions of Southern African.

Tilapia mossambicus
O. mossambicus has several positive qualities, which makes it a suitable specie for aquaculture. These include:
1. High growth rate (up to 800g in twelve months)
2. High fecundity (females produce about 500 eggs every second week)
3. Adaptable to extreme environmental conditions (water quality and temperature)
4. Ability to utilise plant and animal nutrients for growth
5. Good meat quality (white, soft and with good market acceptance)
6. Versatile taste and texture, facilitating various applications and value added products

Tilapia is a warm-water fish which prefers temperatures in the range of 24-32°C. Growth rates decline rapidly at temperatures below 20°C with little or now growth registered at temperatures below 15 °C. At these temperatures the fish is also more susceptible to diseases and mortality is often experienced at temperatures below 11°C.. Females reach sexual maturity at an earlier age than males. Males in general demonstrate a growth rate 40% faster than that of females, making them the preferred sex for production purposes. The ideal market size is 400 – 500g (8 – 10 months old) for whole fish and 700 – 1000g (11 – 14 months old) for production of processed fillets.

Water Quality Criteria

The available volumes of water will determine production capacity. Water quality is an area of primary concern during the preliminary investigation and plays a major role in the efficiency of production and the quality of the end product. The volume and quality is some of the aspects, which the potential producer has to give attention to. The following parameters can be used as an indication of water quality requirements:

Dissolved oxygen > 5 mg/L Ammonia (NH3) < 0.5 mg/L
Temperature 24-36 º C Nitrite (NO2) < 5 mg/L
Acid level (pH) 6.8 - 8.5 Nitrate (NO3) < 100 mg/L

Market
Fresh tialpia fillets

Before an aquaculture enterprise is established, a thorough market survey has to be conducted. Because of its qualities with regards to taste and texture, tilapia is often used to substitute other high value fish species and products. Wide-ranging acceptability is one of the main reasons for the fast growth in tilapia culture all over the world. International markets however require a regular supply of large quantities of outstanding quality. High standards of management, product quality and processing is required to address these markets. For typical tilapia recipes visit any of the following websites:
http://ag.arizona.edu/azaqua/ista/recipes.htm
http://www.simplyseafood.com/Recipes/Re ... 66Rec.Html
http://www.tilapia.org/ista/recipes.htm
http://tilapia.unh.edu/WWWPages/TGP/Recipes.html
http://www.seafoodlink.com/rain/rain_recipes.html

TAKEN FROM http://admin.sun.ac.za/kie/unistel/aqua ... /aquastel/

Cyara

Researchers at Stellenbosch University in collaboration with the University of Swansea in Wales, have produced supermale (YY) genotype of the tilapia specie O. Mossambicus. This supermale posesses two male sex determining chromosomes instead of one as in the normal male genotyope (XY). Supermales are therefore not hormonally treated in any way, but are produced through a breeding programme combining sex reversal and progeny testing which does not involve genetic engineering techniques of any sort.

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Photographs showing a typical harvest result of genetically male tilapia GMT ® (left) compared to mixed sexed tilapia (right) under identical culture practices in pond trials in the Phillipines. In the mixed sex culture (MST) note the irregular size of the stocked fish and the presence of fingerlings.

Stellenbosch University... Aquaculture
http://academic.sun.ac.za/aqua/index.html

darkness

i have been wondering about the chook poo idea (i have quail and will be adding some quail poo to mine i think) the only thing I'm worried about is the copper..

i have read some posts about feeding fish with chook food and that its a bad idea as the copper is toxic to fish..

but how much copper get through the system (the chook) and into the tank? plus the feed that ends up being kicked or dropped out of the feeder?

Cyara

To be honest I have never heard of problems from copper.... what exactly does it come from?

Is the feed for the quail the standard feed of the chook? Here in South Africa it is basically sunflower seeds, crushed maize and sorghum.

I know Synaptoman has put chooks over his one system and it has reaped satisfactory results for him.... no iron deficiencies. That was a real concern for me.... don't want to add any outside inputs if possible.... not even chelated iron.

RupertofOZ

Synapto's output from his chooks... is a little different than inputting chook food (as feed) to the fish though Chelle .... :wink:

darkness

as i breed my quail for meat i give them high protein turkey/game feed... witch has copper added.. i would think that some would pass into the droppings and then build up in the water.. if small water changes (like how f&F uses fish water to water his dirt garden) then this might not be a problem.. but its still something to think about/watch out for

RupertofOZ

Agreed Darkness... that's the problem with most metals and fish in recirculating systems... they are cumulative....

darkness

its a pity copper test kits arnt around

but i would try an avoid commercial chook feed as it has copper added... but it would be nice to know how much would really end up in the tank I'm only speculating

creative1

It might be possible to plate out the copper on a cathode
or ion exchange system. Since chelated iron could be of benifit...
Though I am yet to see this :flower:

RupertofOZ

darkness wrote:

its a pity copper test kits arnt around

but i would try an avoid commercial chook feed as it has copper added... but it would be nice to know how much would really end up in the tank I'm only speculating

Plenty of copper test kits available... not sure how good they are...

The first two are made by API... the makers of the "Master Test Kit" that most of us use...

http://theaquariumshop.com.au/shopexd.a ... Test%20Kit

http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index.php ... 44dc892253

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/cata ... 8&catID=22

http://www.reefaquarium.com.au/index.ph ... roduct=167

Cyara

darkness wrote:

as i breed my quail for meat i give them high protein turkey/game feed... witch has copper added.. i would think that some would pass into the droppings and then build up in the water.. if small water changes (like how f&F uses fish water to water his dirt garden) then this might not be a problem.. but its still something to think about/watch out for

Why is copper added to your quail food?
I don't think Synaptoman gives anything like that to his chooks. Never heard of such an additive here. My chooks will just be fed a basic grain and seed mix with weeds and greens such as comfrey etc... and grubs ...etc for protein

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Copper in Water

Normal plant and animal life requires a small amount of copper. This "trace element" occurs in most (25%) water samples from lakes and rivers (surface water) and some well water (ground water). Copper levels in the 100 largest US cities range from1 to 250 micrograms/liter, with a median of 83 mcg (1000 micrograms (mcg) = 1 milligram (mg)). Some copper dissolves from copper water pipes, especially when water has a low pH (acidic). This problem occurs most often in the Eastern US, in households with wells containing soft water and copper piping. As recommended by the National Research Council, the Commonwealth of Virginia Waterworks Regulation sets the maximum contaminant level for copper at 1 mg/liter. Some people notice a metallic taste in water when copper levels reach 1-5 mg/liter. This standard was set for taste rather than health reasons.
A normal diet provides approximately 2-5 mg of copper daily. There is no known toxic level of copper in water; however, a one time ingestion of 250mg may result in toxic effects. [b]Symptoms of copper toxicity include metallic taste, vomiting, burning in the stomach, and diarrhea.[/b]
Suspect high copper content in water when blue-green stains appear around drains and faucets. Water should be tested by your local water control service, laboratory, or health department whenever water has an of-taste, smell, or discoloration. They will give instructions on how to collect the sample and where to take it, although many services collect test samples themselves.
If copper levels are 3-5 mg/liter because of copper piping, allow the water to run at least 60 seconds before using for cooking or drinking. Water drained within the first minute has a higher copper content than fresh water coming from the well. A neutralizing unit, placed on the holding tank, returns acidic water to a normal pH. This device contains calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide and costs about $400.
REMEMBER--electrical wires should never be grounded on a copper pipe, as electricity can greatly increase copper levels!

From....... http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/in ... copper.doc -

If large amounts of copper were suspected in the water could you not set up an activated charcoal filtration system in a loop? And change the pH.

I would avoid that copper getting into my water.... and into my birds.

RupertofOZ

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If large amounts of copper were suspected in the water....

I'd use a totally different source of water.....

Cyara

Filter out the copper if in the feed ....before it gets to the fish Rupe. Set up a loop...

Wouldn't use that feed myself.

Cyara

Alternate power for pumping.

Although I favour solar and wind I have a definite curiosity with pedal power.

I found this really super blog and site with full plans to make a very efficient and cost effective treadle pump .....
PLANS…. http://treadle.plans.googlepages.com/home
BLOG… http://treadlepump.blogspot.com/
Their set goals for Haiti were...
- low cost
- ability to be constructed out of commonly available materials
- ability to pump water to high elevations
- Ability to maintain in the field.
- Ability for a person to operate it for long periods without fatigue

Really nice back-up I think.

Cyara

Interesting online booklet....

Basically saying use manure to create the right amount of algae bloom

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Animal manure can be used as fertilizer and also directly as fish food for some fish species such as the silver striped Catfish and Nile Tilapia. Poultry manure makes better fish food than other species of animal manure because it contains a large amount of bacteria. Most animal manure is used indirectly by fish, as algae first break down the manure for their own growth. Zooplankton feeds on algae, and fish eat both zooplankton and algae.

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Good fertilizer is animal dung or composted plant material. It is important to spread the fertilizer evenly over the pond. If too much is put in one place it will decompose without bacteria. If this happens, then little natural food will be produced in the pond.

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In ponds which are well fertilized the fish will usually receive more than enough protein. However, they may not obtain sufficient energy, which can limit production. By feeding the fish grain which is rich in energy you can supplement this deficiency. The by-products from grain production, such as wheat and rice bran, or broken rice, make excellent food supplements for fish ponds which are fertilized using animal dung. In Cambodia the leaves from the ipil-ipil tree, Sesbania tree and kapok tree, together with tender leaves from water hyacinth and morning glory plants are cooked with rice husks and used as fish food. Termites are also a good source of protein-rich food. The termites are extracted from their mounds by sieving the earth. The soil left over is good for producing earthworms

Water hyacinth and morning glory grow many places like weeds. Definitley new idea about morning glory.

Appendix 4 lists plants used for fish food.

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Another successful Chinese fish production system integrates fish, mulberry and silk cultivation. Mulberry trees are grown on the dykes between the fish ponds, and produce about 370 kg of leaves per 100 m² of dyke. The leaves are used as feed for the silkworms. 370 kg of
leaves produce 27 kg of silkworm cocoons. These cocoons in turn produce 185 kg of silkworm manure and skins (after the silkworms have shed their skins). The silkworm manure can be used directly as fish food and fertilizer for the fish pond. The cocoons contain the (butterfly)
pupa which have a food conversion of 2 when this is used directly as fish food.

.....and much more...

A worthwhile read as usual from journey to forever
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/AD21.pdf

Backyard Aquaponics A place to discuss aquaponics

Cyara's dream CHIFT PIST system

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics