Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am developing an Aquaponics system for a middle eastern setting and was wondering how much and what type of food leftovers can be used to feed common Carp. Because of the lack of constant electricity many people throwaway leftovers because they can't store it. I have heard that Carp eat just about anything so I was wondering if I can feed them table scraps directly instead of having to bother with maggots etc. Mostly it would be cooked food but possibly some raw scraps as well.

Here are some common foods that might get thrown away:
- Rice dishes with meet, chicken or shrimp. (normally it is fairly greasy)
- Salads, ie raw tomatoes, cucumbers Lettuce etc.
- Lots of different tomato based stews, this is often pretty liquid but wondered if it could be ground up with the rice to make it into a mush.
- Dried Bread

Some questions I have:
- What is the best way to feed table scraps to the fish? (Ground, whole, frozen...) I am guessing when the fish are small they need the food ground into mush but when they get bigger can they eat it whole?
- Are there particular foods we eat that would be harmful to fish? (Sugar, spices, too much of something...)
- What kind of nutrients are important to include for the fish? (like iron in spinach, or vitamins ?? in fruits or vegatables etc)
- Can I feed my fish according to what my plants need so if there is a lack of potassium can I feed my fish banans or bana peals? or since I can't find iron can I feed them Spinach or chard for Iron?

Thanks for your input.

What fish will you be stocking?

Carp rupe....

Lol

Note to Rupe... don't skim read....

Common man pat attention.
Dunno about your carp but ours , well the introduced ones will eat corn, bread etc, so go for it

Well, I guess I will try it out and see what happens. I am still cycling the system to wait for the ammonia to drop but I put a teaspoon of beans and rice in the other day and didn't see any left, Although I can't see the bottom of the tank very well.

We shall see...

Carp will eat leafy greens like lettuce, chard, kale etc. I don't know about anyhing else.

You could make a feeding net to lower into the tank with the food on it. Might get a better idea what's been eaten by being able to lift it back out.

i think carp with a sunfish like a bluegill would work perfectly i live on a lake and i feed my bluegill/pumpseeds table scraps. rice and meats sink so shuck these foods out slowly so all the fish get a chance i wish i had carp because the food that does fall to the bottom just sits there and thats where the carp come in sucking and feed of the bottom or catfish would work great to. also many people overlook the common crayfish but they will eat everything u throw in and taste great

Common Carp eat vegetation. So anything that is leafy green will work well.

Canned corn kernels are rumoured to be a successful bait for wild carp here in OZ, I'm guessing they will eat most anything they can get into their mouth. If feeding greens i'd probably attempt to pelletise them with the other left overs or make a crumble of some sort. I think it'd be hard for a rubbery lipped carp to tear up a lettuce leaf.
I'm not experienced with carp, just sharing my thoughts.

Jus a thought, try out chiffon cake or sponge cake. They are made of egg and flour. The have lotsa protein in it. Rice onoy has carbo, but not enuff nutirent for fishes.