Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ive read on some places that feeding a natural diet such as plants and minnows will make the best tasting meat and than ive read the same thing about commercial feeds. I was wondering, what kinds of feeds (natural, commercial or homemade) do you think makes the best tasting meat? Does what you feed have a large impact on the meat or does it not effect it much?

I'll give it a shot. There has been a lot of research done on feeding catfish. It's my understanding that no strong correlations have been identified that tie flavor of flesh to the feed quality. The only major standout, as far as I know, has been the use of marine fish oils in catfish feed. I don't know the percentages of fish oil that effects the flavor but I know that too much makes catfish taste "fishy". So go figure. I would only guess that this would hold true for other species.

U.S. farm raised catfish are fed a diet largely composed of soybeans, some corn and vitamins and minerals. The fish meal/oil protein in the feed comes from rendered catfish byproducts (bones, skin, head and guts) discarded by the processing plant. U.S. farm raised catfish are very consistent in flavor and quality. Try some.

Now on the flip side, Tilapia are fed nearly anything, from pooh to high quality soybean based feeds. I don't eat much tilapia, yet understand it too has a consistently mild flavor. Of course different species have their own particular flavors. Salmon is very unlike catfish or tuna for that matter.

Now an altogether different issue arises in the flavor of catfish (and I have heard tilapia, probably other species too). Certain phytoplanktons can cause an "off flavor" in fish. Basically a heavy bloom of certain phytoplanktons cause a bad flavor. Get rid of the phytoplankton and the bad flavor goes away. Here is a link giving some further explanation.
http://www.uaex.edu/aquaculture2/FSA/FSA9051.htm

All catfish ponds have sample fish sent to the plant for flavor testing before harvesting the pond. Economically this is real pain. Fish can be ready, size wise for harvest but if they are deemed "off flavor" the pond won't be harvested. No harvest means no check from the plant. So it can really mess up cash flow.

Hope that helps you or someone.

Personally, I would experiment with different feeds and see for yourself. Knowing the source of feed would make fish taste better to me. Maybe a poll can be taken here or some one can volunteer a "bad tasting fish" experience.

Sorry can't help too much with that Delilah, but I imagine that a natural feed would certainly produce a nice tasting fish....

Hey JD, do you guys ever purge fish like catfish? Does that make a difference? I don't know anything about catfish, but I know that the silver perch industry over here is rather strict on purging all the fish before market, gets rid of muddy tastes that negatively effect the industry..

EB, catfish processing plants will buy no less than 10,000 lbs of catfish from a farmer at one time. Most sell upward to 100,000 lbs at a time (keep in mind most catfish ponds are 10-20 acres). The answer is "no" in regards to catfish being transferred from a pond into a "clear" holding tank of water, as a general rule. The fish are loaded into large trucks, 10,000 lbs at a time, at least, as some trucks are larger. I know some research was conducted where fish were held in 10,000 lb increments in well (bore) water, it helped get rid of "off flavor" but wasn't economically feasible. On the other hand, feed is withheld from the fish before harvesting. So the fish are "self purged" in the fact that nearly no feed is left in the digestive tract. Personally, I have held catfish in tanks with clear well water for several days prior to eating. I can't tell the difference between them and normally harvested fish with feed withheld.
Hope that helps.

Maybe the silver perch also get "off flavor" from phytoplankton. Are the silver perch normally grown in ponds or tank?

When I was living in the Territory and we were given soma Barra caught from a billabong (Natural water hole) they were disgusting with a very noticeable muddy flavour. Couldn't even hide it by making fish curries. Had to through the lot out and they were big fish 800mm plus!

Most likely the Barra had an "all natural" diet since they were wild. So the water quality is the most likely culprit. Catfish get a "muddy" flavor as well caused by phytoplankton, that's an off flavor I mentioned.

I know that yabbies caught out of muddy dams are very ordinary in taste compared to ones caught in deep pristine water. But they probably have vastly different feed as well.

It definitely from the muddy water hes they were in.

I saw some research a while ago that concluded that the reason that salt water fish taste "better" was because of a number of trace elements in the salt water not the salt itself. I know that's nothing to do with feed but that's the best I got.

You sure they were Barra.. and not Saratoga...

Definitely Barra, I never saw any Saratoga caught that far up the Daly River.

Yeah Silver are grown in ponds, could well be phytoplankton causing off flavours..

I've had a few people in here from way up north where Barra grow as natives and when we show them the barra here they aren't at all impressed. Reckon Barra taste like crap.. Where as most Perth people get really excited.

I know with other animals such as mamals, what they have been eating in the last couple of weeks greatly changes the flavor of the meat. I grew up in a hunting family in central Wisconsin. It may seem disgusting to think about eating bear but it was the best tasting meat I have ever eaten. A couple months before bear season hunters bait the bear with pastries and any cheap discarded sweets they can get their hands on. The meat actually has a sweet flavor. On the other hand a bear that has been eating fish especially rotten fish is nearly impossible to eat. In my experience the same goes for swine poultry and cattle. Free range catle, while healthy they may be, have a very different taste to them than corn fed cattle. Many farmers feed thier open range cattle corn and grain a few weeks before slaughter. This changes the flavor greatly. I can only assume that this concept will carry over to fish. Since I will be raising tilapia, which eat pretty much anything you throw in, I will be experimenting with a wide range of foods in the last few weeks before harvesting them. Keep in mind many people do not feed thier fish and put them in a clean water for a few days before they harvest. This in my opinion takes some of the fishy/gamey taste away.


Good luck

MM