Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, it's settled then. I'm going shopping for oscars tonight. I still want tilapia, but it looks like I won't get any before May at the earliest. Maybe I'll know what oscar tastes like by then.

Don't know if they'll have any rainbird.... think the writers guild is still out

What about Dolphin?
"They call him 'Kipper, Kipper, Faster than lightning!"

At our lfs, they often have large oscars that were sold back when they outgrew their owner's tank. If you wanted to know how oscar tastes without the long wait....

Any meds probably wouldn't hurt you, but, well, uh....
If not for eating, at least it would give you a headstart on breeding...

I like the oscar idea as well as N California is another place that frowns on tilapia. Report back, folks! Growth rates, feed conversion, meat ratios, etc. Cool!

I'm about to set up my first decent small system and will go with goldfish (what do they taste like?) until system is stable and have tested water heating strategies. Then the oscars sound interesting.

goldfish have never become big enough for anybody to try eating them
They are related to European carp. I'm sure they taste similar.
oscars are an interesting idea.
Giant Gourami anybody?
Salmon Cats?
Tandanus Catfish

All these are available at my lfs and would probably be nice.

OzV: I trust there are no fish farms on Norfolk Island where you can get good aquaculture fish that suit the area?

Tandanus Catfish are a fantastic tasting fish. Just gut and skin and into frying pan....yum-oh. (slow growers though)

H.

I didn't think that slow... in my aquarium I grew from 40mm to 180mm in a year, and I have never intensively fed my fish... but perhaps they'd still be slower than SP.
I used to have them in heated water though, their tolerance is very high... perhaps this makes a difference?

Got oscars, and started up a small aquaponics system this past weekend. Started a new thread, "Oscarponics", where I go into details, and will continue to document progress.

Any body know much about the giant Gouramies? I know growth rate is supposed to be great,

What about breeding them,
taste,
etc.?

I was surprised this morning when reading on US market fish that there was a listing for tin foil barbs a member of the carp family.

It is quite an interesting list from the US FDA:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/rfe0.html#cname
the filets of the tin foil barb look to be about 13-15cm long:

WOW - this thread is still going!!! I've been super busy - I don't live on Norfolk island any more. I live in Tasmania - teachnig science and marine science down here and bought a few acres. Starting to think about AP again Anyone got pics yet?

On growth rates... my first oscars, so many years ago...., were bought at around 2" in length. They were housed in a 6x2x2 aquarium. By the time I sold them 12 months later the largest one was 10 inches long and weighed 700g.

I have a 2000gal water tank here that I'm thinking of attacking with an angle grinder to make two ponds... don't like my chances of heating this over winter here in Tas though