Muddy tasting fish??

[Jessica]

I have a question about a small aquaponic system...our fish from our system last summer tasted like what mud smells like...does anyone have any clue as to why this is?

[Jessica]

We never had algae in our fish tank...but we had a little bit in our grow beds would that be enough for that to happen?

[George]

Freshwater fishermen who harvest fish from ponds have experienced the muddy taste and it's bad.

I think your solution will be more aeration and/or filtering.  Summer is when you notice it because warm water has less capacity for holding oxygen and your demand is probably the greatest at that time.  You may be able to solve it by simply adding an air pump and stone but more filtering is likely needed too.  It's a bacteria issue, I believe.

[Glenn]

Type of fish could have something to do with it. For instance, catfish in the wild even, often tastes somewhat like mud if the blood and darkest part of the fillets aren't processed correctly. I suggest reading about how best to harvest and process your particular species. As I prefer to raise trout, gut thoughts would suggest a need for more water circulation/filtration, cooler temps, and as much oxygen as possible.

 

[George]

Some species of fish are purged when harvested, which means the fish are placed in ultra pure water with an air stone for a few days and feeding is discontinued.  One operation I visited purges their tilapia in salt water. 

[Jim Fisk]

What species of fish? Our Trout are amazing tasting. So delicious!

[Jessica]

Thank you everyone! I do believe that it is a filtration/aeration issue also...just wanted a few other ideas before we start our system again this year. We will definitely keep everyone's ideas in mind as we change our system.

BTW...we had bluegill and perch in our system last summer.

[Eric]

If you grew up eating fish from the ocean, fw fish taste muddy or strange. Or at least thats my opinion. I grew up catching my own in Fl so I guess Im spoiled. My fish are safe unless Im starving! There just fertalizer factories.. Also water clarity and mud content affect flavor. The cleaner, the less funky taste and smell. Im looking to add river prawns so I can have a good dinner, they taste awesome! Good luck...

[Clark E. Fullwood]

I would also say it is a good idea to purge them to get them cleaned out. I also, think that aeriation is an issue. I just recently bought a regenerative air blower off of ebay that moves 21 cu. ft. of air a minute. At first I was worried that it would not be enough to handle the job, but after I got it plumbed up and running, I had to throttle it down with valves as was so much that water was boiling out of tanks. I had been using one of the large aeriation pump that you get in the hydroponic stores, but it was so loud that I could hear it from inside my house. The regenerative blower has a quiet little hum.  If you haven't tried one might look into it. Got it for around 200 bux.

[George]

My experience is that you are sometimes right but it's all about water quality and species.  FW fish can be very good but I too prefer salt water fish.  To me, the best freshwater fish can get is good but some species from the ocean are excellent. The muddy taste is repulsive - no way I can eat it. 

Eric said:

If you grew up eating fish from the ocean, fw fish taste muddy or strange. 

[George]

Yeah, rub it in.  

Jim Fisk said:

What species of fish? Our Trout are amazing tasting. So delicious!