Black Soldier Fly Larva

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I can't grow BSFL because we are a zone 4/5 - they just aren't native here - but I love the concept and they sound like both awesome composters and wonderful, productive fish food.  Since I just wrote a blog post about them, and am selling the BioPod, they little guys are on my mind.  Is anyone using BSFL to feed their fish?  Is anyone doing this in a zone 6 or below?  What are your thoughts?

[Bob Campbell]

The side that gives them less adhesion/less traction to the side of the bucket.

I'm guessing the hook side works better than the fuzzy side. 

[Pat James]

I want to revisit this old thread instead of re-inventing. Have any of you found any experimental proof that feeding fish purslane or other high omega 3 veggies translates into high enough omega 3 in the MEAT to be beneficial? I can see where if you take the whole fish and grind it up to analyze you would certainly get good reading....mainly because you are getting the gut contents and the liver...

I am asking because I am trying to decide if I might want to devote one of my garden beds to growing purslane for this purpose. I figure IF it works, then the best time to add it to the fish's diet is a few weeks before harvesting.

[TCLynx]

Or you could eat the purslane yourself.

FYI suddenly trying to change the fish's diet just a few weeks before harvest, is probably more likely to have the fish refusing the new feed and possibly even losing weight rather than changing the omega balance in the meat.

I don't even know if there is much actual scientific evidence that feeding chickens flax actually makes their eggs omega 3 eggs but apparently they are allowed to market them as omega 3 eggs simply by offering flax seed to the birds.

[Pat James]

TC That was my point. I have read several articles on how feeding high omega3 will translate to the end product, but none that really seemed to finalize the issue. ne said that it works with chicken eggs, but others are not as specific. feeding an animal anything and then taking the whole animal and grinding it up and you will see some of the feed components....but does that translate into a real change?

I wanted to get the meat higher in omega 3 so I would not have to eat the stuff. I also understand it is high in oxalic acid which does not bother some animals like chickens.