Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

was the mash still wet/warm or had it been dried previously. one thing i have noticed. Mash when piled rots quite fast and smell of rotten squid in about 4-5 days in the heat. before long the pile is just literally moving all over with maggots/flies.

would this decomposing pile of rank, rotten, fly larvae/maggots/grain be ok to feed? Would the fish desire this flav more?

currently i'm getting like 3-4 50 gals every week. its more than i can use currently so ive just been spreading it to dry so the flys dont get in it so much. then i make new dry worm beds to get ready for worm innoculation in future date.

all suggestions appreciated. Many thanks!

Lifted,

I've heard of folks suspending roadkill over a pond or river to attract fish that are then eager to grab whatever strikes the water in that spot, but would not have the stomach to have something like that near my house. It might also taint my enjoyment of the fish or veggies. Still, if you can get the same thing going with spent mash, perhaps suspending it on a tray or ??, the larvae will probably crawl out occasionally (like when the are ready to pupate) and fall into the water.

Another possibility is just go straight to raising BSF larvae, either above the tank so they fall in or in their own setup (lots of posts..).

The grain I put in was straight out of the mash tun, so still wet and soft
The compost bin that I put the spent grain in is full of fat red wrigglers and the trout have taken to eating them , so that might be the go.

Do worms and soldier fly maggots have all the nutrients fish need?

Nope, but they come pretty close - if you're still feeding some pellets as well, you cover all the angles.

Is there a rule of thumb for working out the proportions of each?

I am in the design stage of a Community garden and want to include an AP system,we will have worms and BSFs hopefully access to beer making by products but will obviously need to budget for pellets too.

tender vittles which is purina cat chow which is very close to 100% of nutrients if you can find it.

maybe there is an equivalent???idk

What is a good low cost pellet?

when you say "community garden" are you implying that it is in urban environment?

unless you have enuf consumption the mash will go from really nice granola like scent to rotten squid in a few days. the flies/maggots will be uncontrolable. even in composting it reeks. u can spread it to dry it and that helps a lot.

Community garden will be is in a rural area
but it will have a residence near by.

Is there any reason that the leftover fish (ie: bones,skin,guts) from filleting etc cant be used?

Can this be classed as fishmeal or is the nutrient value different to whitebait?

If it could be used, could it be dried and ground and mixed with beer waste to create a more complete food?

Just a few thoughts Ive been curious about the fish waste side of it but wasnt sure what to mix it with - sounds like beer waste might do?

Meat does tend to attract rats and other pests, but I expect that if you buried it a bit and/or fed it to the BSF larvae gradually it would work. The same gradual method would probably work for spent mash with worms or BSF: refrigerate, freeze, or dry the rest....

Certainly would be classified as fishmeal.

Definitely could be mixed in with your spent grain and would help "fill out" the nutritional profile.