Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

If all else fails Janet, why not mince the culled fish, dry and then use as feed?

rupets suggestion makes sense. chuck them in an ice/water slurry and then freeze them for later use/preperation.

I froze my first 22 SP that dies due to power outage. the next lot loved the "custom" food!

Hmmm...tilapia fry need higher protein. Wonder if my blender would handle pieces of culled tilapia...

i boiled mine then put them thru the sausage mincer mixed with some chicken pellets and flour

Ah ha...boiling. Better do this when the kids are not home.

or the non-ap addicted other half woah what a smell!

Then the mincer made light work of them, bones and all.

dried the resultant spaghetti looking output by blowing a small electric heater over them for an hour or so and kept it in sealed bags in the freezer. i'm sure the run down is in a alternative feeds thread from way back

You can always send a few of your culls my way!

(Not too many yet....)

You don't want the culls, Greenedo! They're going to be the runty ones with odd-shaped mouths and blind in one eye. Also, even though they are runty, I'm thinking they are a bit big to ship at this point. You want nice fingerlings. I might have a few of those to spare. PM me when you are ready.

Right again, Janet. I really want to get going, but unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day, and even though I still have checks, the bank tells me that I can't write them for more than I have in the account!

I have been watching pet stores for "african mouth breeder" cichlids - hoping that I can find some without dealing with shipping.

I gotta stop this work thing. Anyone know how to retire with no money at 43? And still afford the mortgage, college for the kids, etc.?

Forced into that situation by circumstance greendo.... can't recommend it very highly

Still if I'd had AP around then, I might at least been a bit saner

Greenedo, you may be able to ask the pet store to get some for you. Give them the scientific names. I tried that, but it didn't work, even though the store was happy to try. Depending on the supplier the fish store uses, you may have better luck.

I culled the 8 smallest fish today. They weighed out at 70 grams on average. I would estimate the rest of my fish to be at 100+ grams (0.25 lb). I'm going to continue feeding at the same total per day that I have been. So that's about 50 grams (9 tablespoons) of food per day, or an estimated 1% of body weight. At this size of fish, the charts indicate I should be feeding about 3% of body weight. I'm not getting optimal growth (the fish should be about 200 grams (almost 0.5 lb) for their age), but I have been short-feeding to keep the water quality better.

My assumption is that as I get more plant-mass, more roots, and more mature bacteria, I will be able to handle more fishload and higher feed rates. I had calculated that I should be able to support 17kg (37lb) of fishload with my growbeds (total 150gal or 570liters). I have about 5kg (11lb) of fish in there now, and can't feed much more than I do or I lose water quality--the nitrites start to rise. Patience? Or was my math wrong?

Sounds like you are getting good results. The 1 lb of fish in two gallons sometimes reached (like hybrid stripped bass at Disneyworld is done with extreme filtration, injected oxygen, and very fast water turnover. So 37 lbs in 150 gallons is excellant. Or do you have more water and the growbed is 150 gallon size? I think using ammonia/nitrite number to decide on feeding and fish weight is a good system.

I am now struggling with water quality and I am losing 1-4 fish a day. My approach is to put a sand filter using zeolite instead of sand in between the fish tank and growbed. I am also going to keep the tank bottom cleaner of fish droppings. The feed rate has been reduced from 210 grams per day to 100 grams per day until I can get the new filter plumbed in. The clarity of the water has been bad and an anerobic muck had developed on the bottom of the fish tank. I vacuumed out the anerobic sludge and the water clarity has improved.

How do you deal with buildup on the fish tank bottom?

Hi Doug,
37 pounds in 150 gal -would be- excellent. I don't know if I'll get there.

Growbeds are 150 gal, and the fish tank is 150 gal, although I don't fill the fish tank to the top. I had hoped to be able to handle 37 pounds of fish, but perhaps that was overly optimistic. As I get more plant mass, I am going to try to up the amount of food while keeping water parameters good.

My water is clear but slightly tea-colored, and I don't get buildup on the bottom. My tank is oval, and I branched the flow on my pump to swirl the water. Everything gets sucked up to the beds in short order. Can you get some circulation going in the water to pick up the debris on the bottom?

Anaerobic sludge on the bottom doesn't sound good, Doug. Keep vacuuming and doing water changes until you get ahead of things. I would even stop feeding for a few days, get your water quality fixed, and then start feeding 1x/day, maybe 25g to start. Slowly increase feed every few days while monitoring water to learn your current upper parameter on feed. Fish can go hungry a whole lot better than they can tolerate nasty water.

Thanks Janet, good advice, which I will follow.