Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Can't get the common type of duckweed here in the philippines but I was able to get this kind of duckweed has anyone worked with this type of specie its a giant salvinia. Can this be fed to tilapias and does it have the same nutrients.

Can this be the only food I could give for my Tilapia or I would need to supplement it with feeds or on the other hand has anyone tried feeding their tilapia with only duckweed? Do they grow big?

Thanks,

James

My silvers eat it but they are big fish. I use it mainly for mulch in the dirt garden.

it's a declared pest species in most areas of Australia

Duckweed is strictly a water plant correct? wont grow in the soil...?


jT

it will grow on really wet soil, like my yard at the moment, but not prolifically

Hi, I live in the Bahamas and there isn't much duckweed around, if any. Could you look at the photos and let me know if this is duckweed please. Thank you

Same here in the US. A very invasive species. Alot in south FL and LA. I can't comment on the nutritional value for tilapia. Grass carp or white amur don't seem fond of it.

Kohfe you appear to have a Lemna species. You can see for yourself on this site.
http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckpix.htm

I expect that if you were to feed your tilapia only plant material of any kind, you would take much longer to grow them out. The fast rates that people tout for growing tilapia are for really good water conditions with 30% + protein feed and warm water (and probably also all male populations.) Drop any of those and growth rates slow.

That said, supplementing tilapia feed with plant materials is probably a very good thing and if you can feed them a variety, even better. Growth rates might be slower but the resulting fish could perhaps be healthier to eat compared to the fish fed only corn and soy based commercial feed. Our tilapia love the greens.

Sorry I don't know anything about the particular plant you are asking about though.

http://www.invasive.org/eastern/biocont ... gFern.html

A little more info about Salvinia.

Compost worms love salvinia. Place I got mine from wanted some compost worms to start his worm farm. Told him to look at the salvinia he gave me. Lots of red worms in the root mass eating the parts of the plant that had started to rot.

I know this is an old thread,but I too was looking into Salvinia. It has become an invasive species in TX and seemed easy enough to grow.
Here is a comparison to Duckweed.
http://www.feedipedia.org/node/15721
http://www.feedipedia.org/node/12562