Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have just found a great pdf about Moringa...
Can I upload a pdf to this site, I do all my pics through photobucket, but that won't let me do pdf's.

Any advice welcome

Dui.

If you have a bumper crop of say parsley or celery or whatever, could it be dehydrated and powdered and used as a supplemental food for tilapia? I am not expecting it to be a complete diet but is it feasible just as a way of using up extra vegetables grown in the system?

I have masses of celery.

can duckweed be very very shallow? I'm thinking of using some old light covers that would basically be 3 or 4cm deep, i could trickle water in at one end, and have a small pvc pipe with a screen over it letting the water out on the other end, but the rest could just be duckweed. I could potentially have 3 or 4 of these stacked on little tiers and still would only take up 30-40cm. It could even be right above the fish tank so that if any duckweed got through it could go directly to the fish .

yes it can silkcom - even in just a thin surface film of slowly moving water (though it's not at it's highest productivity level in this situation).

what makes for the "highest" growth rate?

Well, you want a few centimetres depth for root growth, plenty of nitrates (though I think duckweed is also capable of utlising some ammonia directly from the water as well) and the right temperature (not sure what that is off the top of my head).

I thought I would visit the forum today and whatlyknow a subject that I can throw my 2 cents to.

I started fingerlings with egg yolks (hard boiled) until I could purchase flake food . Egg yolks can cloud the water if fed too much. The flakes I got from Aquanic eco-systems in Florida and were kinda expensive.

We made our own baby food for the kids, Why wouldn't it work for fish ?

So , I fed the flakes for a while and decided to try making fish food.

I got a crank food grinder (meat grinder) and added cooked beans ,peas,oatmeal,hard boiled eggs ,worms, lettuce, peas, cooked corn meal . and anything else that they will eat.

As someone cranks the grinder another person moves the tray so you get strings of ground stuff , you need to make it fairly dry to work. too dry- it crumbles. too soupy and you get goo. This would be fingerling food. Lay it out to dry or put it in the oven on a slow temp. If it dries too slow it could mold.
After it is dried it can be crumbled up.

The bigger fish eat leaf lettuce , canned sweet corn,peas, oatmeal flakes (do not prefer a lot) cooked beans (when the store runs a sale on dry beans) sprouted wheat grass ,swiss chard pieces, cooked carrots cut into bite size pieces.and duckweed .
I am working on a mealy worm colony in an old fileing cabinet. also (the best for last) made a fly maggot catcher - all sizes of fish like these <yum>

The fingerling food is some of a bother but, I have made it and it can be done .

I see what they will eat . then I use it for food (Just like my wife does with me.)

I am still trying to figure out what I ate for dinner last night.

Thanks, a lot of good ideas in there.
We often have surplus sprouts.

I am visualizing whirled peas... (sorry)

So........ I work with this Guy , and he lived in Florida aprox. 4 years. He claimed to have seen wild tilapia big enough to eat a cat.
To actually get to see them you need to get into a row boat and drink either whisky or beer (it takes more beer )
I don't know if you actually put the boat in the water ?
I don't think it really matters . Either way you find yourself back home and soaking wet and remembering that these huge tilapia were coming after you.

OK , picture this same guy sober........

He heard that I have a few tilapia . So . he comes up to me and says: Why would you ever want to raise something that eats poop.

He said that if (on the farm) they wanted to raise big tilapia they would feed them chicken and cow manure .

I don't know if I believe that ..... I have heard of growing algae with manure .

Then if the tilapia eat the algae . I can see that they might grow big , BUT, straight manure ... I am just not sure..anure

I wonder if they like beer

They will pick at the manure, there is undigested vegetation in it anyway.
What's left will encourage algae bloom which Tilapia love to "eat", they develop special bits in the gills at a certain age to be more efficient at it.
Many farmers in Thailand chuck manure in the ponds or have a chicken/duck run over the pond.

Growth rate on Algae alone is much slower than on pellets, but largely free of course.

A six pounder was caught from the wild in FL and it made the news. Must be small cats. I'll probably stick with my bluegills until Jade Perch are available.

[quote="amish wannabe"]So........ I work with this Guy , and he lived in Florida aprox. 4 years. He claimed to have seen wild tilapia big enough to eat a cat.