Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Has anybody labratted this one yet?

I can get dogfood stupidly cheap at costco its mostly corn they are crap dog foods.. I would not let my dogs even sniff that...

They eat lamb and lamb heart etc. (raw meat in full meaty form)

However I am wondering how Tilapia would do with el-cheapo dog food that I can get a 100lbs bag for 2 dimes and a nickle at costco ok well not that cheap but nearly.

I would be asking what protein level and other nasties ie preservatives?

Tilapia are happiest when eating veggies , or an omniverous diet they have excellent gill rakes for algae , they will take worms and stuff as a supplement.

I would be concerned about the preservatives too!

They seem to like a little manure and all sorts of protozoans.

I guess a varied diet leaning heavily towards veggies is the way to go. They love watermelon and zuchhini which are dirt cheap in season. Easily frozen and grated. Also duckweed and azolla which can be cultivated for free. Supplement this with some peas, beans, lupins, even tomato leaves, and some composting worms.

Variety seems to be the spice of life for tilapia.

IMHO FWIW

I second C1. The cheap stuff is usually cheap and nasty. Some of the ones out here have nasty preservatives and colors that you and your fish probably wouldn't like.

You can sometimes get reasonably priced all natural stuff though. Thats the only kind of dry food our dog gets. He's a Lab X (vacume cleaner type) and won't even look at the other stuff now, and if he won't eat it, it must be bad! He eats absolutely everything except super cheap dog food! lol

I really hate to burst everyones bubble but the nasty preservative used in SOME cheap dog foods is ethoxyquin...........and it is used in almost ALL fish foods

i have heard of unscrupulous people manufacturing fish food with high dog food content, and the fish that were fed it did survive and grow..................

Don't know about tilapia, but other fish will take it, trout for example.

They wont die, but it sure as heel aint gonna be a balanced diet

Yeah, but will they come when whistled....

Okay, so you will feed the fish you are gonna eat with food you wouldn't feed your dogs with...I miss the logic in that mate

subtle as a sledge hammer...
good for you les!

Man i would like to see a fish sitting down trying to lick its b--

I'm sure it would if it could - because is could :-)

I often wondered about .. this....

fishy food pellets .. flakes etc.. etc ...

We don't really know what is really in them ...

Are we prepared to eat fish that are fed whatever is in the pellet/flakes?

Do fish feed companies think about humans that eat the fish we grow? Or do they aim for the ornamental market?

What are the compliance laws?

(Compare to the often touted ideas regards ingredients, antibiotics and such like in cattle and pig feed.)

The fish feed industry is probably a lot less regulated compared to traditional pork, lamb and beef...

I bet there are a hell of a lot more "allowable" nasties in commercial fish food than pig, chicken, sheep or cattle food!

I will stick with feeding my fishies home grown veggies, worms retc. etc ... but the circle of life is massive.

If you like the idea of eating factory prepared fish food ... feed them pellets or flake and then eat your tilapia, trout, perch etc.

Would it be better to feed your fish stuff that you grow?


A little poop in one corner smells throughout the whole room!

Not if ya feed home grown J7 that being the point.

I understood the point.. I think I elaborated .. hee hee ...

Sorry for lack of clarity and have ammended my response ..

thanks my friend!

However .... I am NOT diving into my tilapia tub naked!

Especially NOT without wearing some sort of swimming shorts!

The tilapia are like Piranha! HUNGRY! (and I think they may tickle!)

They even nibble the hairs on my arms when I plunge my hand in to move their hides around!

on this point vegies are actualy quite good for dogs my mum used to feed hers soaked rolled oats grated carrots and zuchinni with a raw egg and a few cloves of garlic tehn a table spoon spirralina and some mince

sometimes rice

damm dog was fatter than a pig and never had fleas ( garlic does that )

i do know however that onions (as well as chocolate) are bad news for dogs

Cheers

My point is that maybe commercial Fish food is probably far less regulated than mainstream agricultural food for mammals.