Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Bioaquafarm,
Have you always used the organic feed?
Am interested in the difference of conversion rates compared to conventional feed.
I am using skretting but am looking for alternatives.
As far as I know there is no specific organic trout feed available here in Australia.

Did I read that right? You ave 400 tanks of trout? How big is your farm?
Regards Ben

I did significantly better than that on my first go, as posted previously, I wonder why the commercial farms are aiming so low?




I started changing to 5mm pellets at 2 months.

Skretting trout food is reliable and they have been around for many year, Donald cooke (01709365968) is the authorised local distributor, they will delivery any quantity but on small order there is a surcharge of £10 per bag just for delivery!
You are looking at £45 for a 25kg bag, unless like me you go organic for little extra.
The amount of food you need to feed is purely based on the weight of the fish and the temperature of the water, trout at fingerling stage can eat up to 8% of they're body weight x day while a mature fish will only eat up to 2%.
When you call for the trout food ask the to send you the feeding chart.
Food conversion ration will depend on many factor and one of the most important is water temperature and fish appetite!
The pellet size change is done when the trout reach a specific weight, it's not based on the age of the trout.
Fish feeders.... there are many option on the market, your choice should be based on the amount of food the unit will be able to hold in the chamber (amount of food extruded multiply by the amount of days you want to feed them in your absence) the cheapest option that I've used for my pilot trial system 3 year ago in London was a FISHMATE feeder, only cost £45 and still working fine (I'm using it for my Ducks now as my 400 trout tanks need a KOI feeder now (£120)
The choice of crops you have mention will do well under HID lighting only, unfortunately this country it's not hot enough for those heat loving plant! But there is plenty more you can grow....have a look at my selection to give you an idea, I will update soon photos of winter crops growing at present : brussel sprout, chard, radicchio, chicory, cabbages, broccoli, garlic, pack choi, Osaka purple, parsley, spinach, celeriac, celery, radishes, etc....

You had really great results,
Even considered that your 80 fingerlings at 100mm most likely went through ca 2kg by the time you got them.

Commercial trout farms do more then just fatten up fingerlings.
Stall and advance growth to have a year round supply to the market by using different feed.
Waste is high even with demand feeders. And a 3-5% death rate is considered normal.

Hand feeding and good observation always pays of.

Ben

No, that's 400 trout in a tank... And no, there's no organic trout feed available in Australia that I've heard of.