Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

From back on pg. 19:


I've heard back. For food, they use Purina AquaMax, although I don't know which strain. And

Sorry to respond to myself, but since the latest posts are about getting breeding females in small amounts, I thought I'd add this from the http://www.rdaquafarms.com page:


So no females from them.

I have successfully shipped fish in breather bags with a touch of a powder to neutralize ammonia. They all survived a two and three day trip through UPS. 10-16 fish in 6 to 7 pounds of water.

Having worked at UPS this is what I suggest to ship fish. Two boxes. One just large enough to fit the smaller box in it with a layer of peanuts on all 4 sides of the smaller box; 2 inches on all sides. The smaller box should have holes to let air in and a breather bag placed inside the inner box with more peanuts to prevent water bag from flopping around. Double tie and rubberband the breather bag; leaving no air in the bag. You might even wrap paper towels around the bag to absorb any small leaks.

Excellent, Dan!

I have also successfully shipped via UPS using an inch of styrofoam lining in the box, and indivdual compartments inside of that for each bag of fish. I did not have breather bags, but used Jungle "Bag Buddies" to tranquilize the fish.

Karen,
If their breeding lines are pure, they are correct that the offspring would be 100% male. If they are not pure, there might be a small chance for a female, but I wouldn't count on getting and isolating one. However, I wonder if one could get a breeding suite from them??? Maybe order up some fingerlings and some breeders?

haha, yeah i saw that. no kidding it's a tough sell, but you never know. then again, doesn't your signature say something about rules/laws being guidelines instead of scripture?

Oh yes. "Rules" are just guidelines.

Another things I say a lot: "I know what you get if you -don't- try."

Just go in forwarned.

Does anyone have a phone number, or even a town, for Zeigler Brothers? I want to buy their pellets, but none of the "where to buy" links have panned out for me, nor can I find a phone number for them.

Their page says they're in "south-central PA" but that's not enough for me to find them using the various on-line directories.

Thanks!

I'll be curious to see how you do. I used their online link to send an email but they didn't respond. I've actually tried using the same for two other manufacturers and got no response. Seems they aren't interested in the little people.

http://www.zeiglerfeed.com/html/contact_us.htm

On the left side of this page (in yellow) is their address and phone number.

Zeigler Bros, Inc.
P.O. Box 95
Gardners, PA 17324

717-677-6181

They're 20 minutes from my house, I pick it up from the warehouse.

Crimany, so it is. And it's also on all their info-sheets. Clearly time to get my eyes checked.

Thanks, Dave.

Hmm... It costs more to ship it to me than it costs to buy. Oh, well! I'll get my worms/duckweed up and running soon!

Swanberg,
Are you going for that type of food for a particular reason? (like knowing exactly what it is made of or something?) Or are you just having trouble finding food for tilapia in general?

I've been feeding various foods till I figure out what seems to work best but the pond diet or catfish food from a feed store or tractor supply will probably do fine for the tilapia unless you have a requirement that the food be organic or something.

I have gotten food from Aquatic Eco-Systems too but I suspect that the shipping would cost as much as the food for you.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/1175/Dense-Culture-Food/F2D/0

I have ordered some Aquamax through our local feed store. The product is made by Purina Mills. It will be a while before I have any info on how well the fish respond to it. I've been feeding some koi food I picked up when our duckweed growth slowed down. I had been heating the water and the duckweed loved it. When I decided heating was too expensive and the water stayed in the mid 60's without heat, I turned it off and the duckweed growth slowed to a halt.

Hopefully, we'll have some new fingerlings in the next couple of weeks and then I'll have some better info on how well Aquamax works.

Mostly because it was recommended here.

I do want to eventually use an organic fish food, and I wanted one that gave the ingredients list.

I ended up getting the silver pellets, instead of the bronze, because it has a sinking pellet. My goldfish eat every floating thing before the catfish can get to them, so I figure the cats will have an even chance with sinking pellets.

I am totally open to other products; I took a look at AquaMax because R&D aquafarms (scroll up about 8 messages) offers it in smaller bags, but I couldn't get an ingredients list.



The nearest Tractor Supply to me is waaaay out in the boonies, but I plan to make a trip soon, if only to see what they have. There is another store, Mills Fleet Farm, that I go to regularly to get my ferret litter (40# bags of wood pellets). I'll check to see if they have bulk fishfood the next time I go there.

I do have compost worms now, but they're still fairly new, and I want to let the colony breed to larger numbers before I start feeding them to the fish. Both the cats and goldfish love them, though. I also grab earthworms after a rain and throw them in. Feeding frenzy! Eventually I want to provide all of my fish food myself (worms, BSF, duckweed etc).

Moringa will help with supplying your own food AND fish food.

Not 'til I get my greenhouse. It gets to -25C here in the winter...