My early stage plans - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T11:29:54Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/my-early-stage-plans?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A176148&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks for the input guys! T…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-10:4778851:Comment:1770162011-08-10T19:43:49.513ZChristina Herseyhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChristinaHersey
Thanks for the input guys! This is great information.
Thanks for the input guys! This is great information. Yea, sounds like the tilapia…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-10:4778851:Comment:1761512011-08-10T13:24:56.544ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Yea, sounds like the tilapia you tried were not so good. Now I'm not a big supporter of raising tilapia but a fresh tilapia out of an aquaponics system that is caught, quickly killed and cleaned then either frozen or cooked is not what I would call "fishy" They are so incredibly mild that you can disguise their taste with just about anything. Much like catfish. If overcooked tilapia can become a bit firm to stringy even in texture.</p>
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<p>However, knowing you are in a cool mild…</p>
<p>Yea, sounds like the tilapia you tried were not so good. Now I'm not a big supporter of raising tilapia but a fresh tilapia out of an aquaponics system that is caught, quickly killed and cleaned then either frozen or cooked is not what I would call "fishy" They are so incredibly mild that you can disguise their taste with just about anything. Much like catfish. If overcooked tilapia can become a bit firm to stringy even in texture.</p>
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<p>However, knowing you are in a cool mild climate, I wouldn't really recommend tilapia except maybe for your initial cycle up since they are such tough fish. I would probably recommend Blue gill for you if they are easily available. Harvest size range for blue gill will probably be similar to Tilapia, maybe a bit smaller but with your climate I would guess similar without heating. Blue gill are slower growers but if your goal is more for the gardening with an occasional fish to eat they could be perfect for you. Catfish are also good but I like bigger tanks for them usually though they will grow slower for you with cooler water.</p>
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<p>Keep in mind you need quite a lot of plant growing space to support a 300 gallon fish tank. You really don't need a huge number of fish to provide nutrients for the plants if you don't have a huge amount of sun to help you use up those nutrients in the plants.</p>
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<p>Just because you grow trout won't necessarily mean you can only grow cold weather crops, the trout just can't take hot water. The plants would actually prefer the water be a little cooler than the tilapia would want it.</p>
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<p>You will have to look into the details of different exotic species in Oregon since it tends to vary by state.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p> Hi Christine. I love that yo…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-10:4778851:Comment:1761482011-08-10T12:57:57.494ZSylvia Bernsteinhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/SylviaBernstein
<p>Hi Christine. I love that you are giving so much thought to the fish in your system! I have a few thoughts, and I'm sure that others in this very active community will chime in as well. </p>
<p>First, you would be well served to contact several local hatcheries and find out what fish is readily grown in your area. Not will this help you understand better what thrives in your cooler climate, but you might also be lucky enough to uncover a source of inexpensive local fingerlings who don't…</p>
<p>Hi Christine. I love that you are giving so much thought to the fish in your system! I have a few thoughts, and I'm sure that others in this very active community will chime in as well. </p>
<p>First, you would be well served to contact several local hatcheries and find out what fish is readily grown in your area. Not will this help you understand better what thrives in your cooler climate, but you might also be lucky enough to uncover a source of inexpensive local fingerlings who don't come with a hefty shipping cost.</p>
<p>Second, I wanted to jump to the defense of the poor tilapia! What you had was undoubtedly imported from China, because approximately 90% of the tilapia in this country is. They have probably not been raised in optimal conditions, nor where they purged before harvesting, and they were frozen for some period of time. After a few years of aquaponics I finally got up the moxi to harvest my first tilapia recently (you can read about it in this <a target="_blank" href="http://theaquaponicsource.com/2011/07/10/aquaponic-tilapia-harvesting-the-deed-has-been-done/">harvesting tilapia</a> blog post) and I couldn't believe how good they tasted! My friend who helped me with the process took a couple home and he aptly described the difference between these fresh fillets and the typical frozen, Chinese stuff as severe as the difference between store bought tomatoes and garden fresh tomatoes. I have to agree.</p>
<p>Aquaponic gardeners gravitate to tilapia because they are fast growing...and easy. I've also grown koi, goldfish, trout and catfish and I have to say that the tilapia are definitely the most forgiving of my various and inevitable system issues. </p>
<p>All that said, you have a lot of great choices you are exploring so I"m sure you will find something you are excited about raising!</p>