Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Agreed B2B, There is much research going on regaring high protien grains, problem is that people in general (let alone industry!) seem to require clubbing over the head to change long established practices

Look at aquaculture and hydroponics...........there is no reason why every aquaculture outfit should not have a green house, and every hydro green house a fish tank, it works, and well! It just change, horrible change...........lol

If I where in the aquaculture industry reading forums about new ways to do things, I would be afronted by reading that my whole industry is a farce. You will get more converts by encouraging practices than head clubbing.
The same could be said of farming practice. If you tell a farmer he is raping the earth and ruining the world, it will be the last thing he hears from you. Tell he can get more for his products and lower his costs through sustainable methods and he's all ears.

Ifeel like I've opened a can of worms here!! but when it gets down to it, we are all on a similar plane

True enough Stu, I figure thats why were here. Make it all a little better one at a time.

What is good is that we can share, and explain, our views and opinions here... and then discover that most are the same in the end, we just express them differently I guess

I know that worms are often stated here as an alternative source of protein, but I just can't imagine having enough worms to cover the proteim needs of a reasonable sized backyard setup.

Vegetable based proteins certainly seem to be the solution. The other thing I will be doing is getting my chooks going again. I will free range them. They will also eat the aqua scraps and plants I grow in the yard specifically as fodder and some of their eggs (yoke only I guess) will go into feeds for the fish. I expect that the chooks will produce significant amounts of protein for me with minimal additional inputs.

We replenished our chook numbers last weekend. They are pretty much free range, have a corner of the yard to themselves. We only feed them scraps, no pellets, which is probably one of the reasons why we don't get heaps of eggs. Were getting ready to hatch our own, and the bantam who we planned to be the mum did a runner. Damn chooks.

Any reason yolks only VB?

Isn't all the protein in the yolks?

ahh the light comes on!

VB, Monya, yep i think surplus eggs from chooks ( not hard to have ) would be a nice addition to home make fish pellets.
I use layer pellets, higher in protient, don't think there is anything bad with them?

B2B, you are right again.........and i feel a little bad now, you're not in one of the industries we've been badmouthing are you

And i actually firmly believe in your approach. People will more ofthen than not "shut-down" when the first thing you say is a critisism.

I don't mind a good discusion (arguement?) with friends, and its usually only after 3 hours that we realise that we agree on more than we disagree

Stu, no can of woorms is too big as long as we repect eachother

No reason not to just bung n the whole egg though, unless you really like pavlova (i do )

Its probably good that worms cant make up 100% of the diet, varied diet is ALWAYS a good thing.

Absolutely, respect given and expected I have relo's who are dairy farmers who irrigate their feed paddocks from basin water, the stuff is green as during the driest of years. I don't approve, but I wouldn't tell them what they are doing is flat out wrong. We all have a right to make a living in our chosen fields, just be nice if everyone spent a little bit of time with an open mind

As for layer pellets, I am sure there is nothing wrong with them, I'm just too tight to keep buying them, when I have a 10 litre bucket of scraps for them every second day!

I do the scraps too, but you can supplement a little with the layer pellets (its the more expensive of the two)

i had 3 chooks and the two of us were giving away more than half the eggs! and we (I ) eat ALOT of eggs, even back before they were "good" again.

Yeah, we have 2 oldies that we rescued from a barn after they had them for a year. We have them for their retirement years! and 1 middle age that should have one more season in her and 3 new ones that are just point of lay. But I know what you are saying, 3 chooks @ 5 eggs each per week = 15 eggs a week and we have had em up to 13 eggs every 14 days!!

I agree with B2 in response to my attack on Aquaculture.

I will say, however, as is typical of my obnoxious self, that the issue is being discussed at a deeper level now. I wasn't only pointing at Aquaculture, but Aquaponics too.

Without sustainable practise being implemented, addressed honestly, with fish meal being exactly what it is, fish killed to feed fish???... neither the Aquaculture or Aquaponic industry can truly hold it's hand up and claim sustainability.

Let's not split hairs for diplomacies sake. We are an integral part of the development of this industry right here right now.

B2Barker made a very valid point.

Headbashing never works, and I'm not sure if it's this forum or another I explained to another forumer my 'soft sell' approach for Aqua. - "Here are the benefits"... as opposed to - "you are doing it wrong."

It is not my style to sell a point on others weaknesses, seems I slipped in some politics, always a party killer.

Sometimes I shoot from the hip, sometimes I use diplomacy, I never seem to know when to use which but I get up to the plate and have a swing for the team.