Tilapia food and Fingerling

[Tropical Aquaponics]

I live in the Caribbean and Aquaponics is still in a baby stage here.  Where can I get good quality feed and fingerling at a very very good price?

[TCLynx]

I'm not sure where you should go for fingerlings but the University of the Virgin Islands might have some info for your area, it will probably depend on the numbers of fish you need. Miami Aquaculture might be an option if you are starting up a large operation.

Fish feed. Again UVI might have some info for your area. You might do a search for Purina Mills dealers on your island to see if there might be a feed store that could get Aquamax for you but any small pellet size catfish feed for recirculating aquaculture should do fine for Tilapia as well.

If you are not going for fast fish growth then you might manage some home grown feed for your tilapia.

[Tropical Aquaponics]

Thanks for your response. I've started a system since August of this year and it has worked out good so far. I was able to breed some Nile Tilapia's which I do believe were not pure. I got about 95 off spring and I placed them in a fibre glass tube which hold about 180-220 gallon. I fed them on duck weed and some cat fish food. Unfortunately, I found that the catfish food had quite a bit of undissolved particles, so it placed a lot of pressure on a solid remover that I built using a 5 gallon bucket. Last week, i was able to get some feed which I had to order from Wisconsin and you can imagine how much i paid just to get that shipped to my address here in the Caribbean (Antigua). My next shipment will have to be planned properly.

My grow bed is 4.5' X3.5'X10". I was able to grow some celery, lettuce and tomatoes. I now want to step it up in terms of my production and be able to supply a few house hold. It is Difficult to get in touch with someone from the University of the Virgin because I have sent emails before; at least a year ago. It seem as though I have to go to one of these courses just to get some answers which is quite costly once I convert my currency to US dollars. So I'm using this forum to meet other person who are quite involved and my be able to assist.


TCLynx said:

I'm not sure where you should go for fingerlings but the University of the Virgin Islands might have some info for your area, it will probably depend on the numbers of fish you need. Miami Aquaculture might be an option if you are starting up a large operation.

Fish feed. Again UVI might have some info for your area. You might do a search for Purina Mills dealers on your island to see if there might be a feed store that could get Aquamax for you but any small pellet size catfish feed for recirculating aquaculture should do fine for Tilapia as well.

If you are not going for fast fish growth then you might manage some home grown feed for your tilapia.

[TCLynx]

Yea, it's kinda tough on an Island. Are there any farm type feed stores on your island? You might ask what different feed lines they carry then perhaps you could find out if any of those companies produce any sort of dense culture fish feeds. Purina Mills makes Aquamax and their Dense culture 4000 is pretty good for providing nutrients while not mucking up the water quality too bad. If the feed store carries any lines that have a good fish food, you might be able to get them to put a bag of two on the next shipment.

Good Luck with it.

[Tropical Aquaponics]

That is a very good idea and I will have a chat with them to see what they can do for me. How is your project going? How long have you been doing this?


TCLynx said:

Yea, it's kinda tough on an Island. Are there any farm type feed stores on your island? You might ask what different feed lines they carry then perhaps you could find out if any of those companies produce any sort of dense culture fish feeds. Purina Mills makes Aquamax and their Dense culture 4000 is pretty good for providing nutrients while not mucking up the water quality too bad. If the feed store carries any lines that have a good fish food, you might be able to get them to put a bag of two on the next shipment.

Good Luck with it.

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Sean, here is an email address of a friend of mine who breeds all male Oreochromis niloticus (silver tilapia) and uses Zigler ( prescribed for this species) here in Trinidad. If you have any questions let me know. [e-mail]

Sean Smith said:

That is a very good idea and I will have a chat with them to see what they can do for me. How is your project going? How long have you been doing this?


TCLynx said:

Yea, it's kinda tough on an Island. Are there any farm type feed stores on your island? You might ask what different feed lines they carry then perhaps you could find out if any of those companies produce any sort of dense culture fish feeds. Purina Mills makes Aquamax and their Dense culture 4000 is pretty good for providing nutrients while not mucking up the water quality too bad. If the feed store carries any lines that have a good fish food, you might be able to get them to put a bag of two on the next shipment.

Good Luck with it.

[Tropical Aquaponics]

Thanks for your assistance. It is really great to have met you folks in such a nice group with common interest. I should have joined a long time ago, had I known. Do you know where in Trinidad I will be able to get some tank that can hold about 800-100 gallon of water that are about 3-4 feet high? Maybe I should have asked what equipment can I get for Aquaponics out of Trinidad which is close to antigua?


Harold Sukhbir said:

Hi Sean, here is an email address of a friend of mine who breeds all male Oreochromis niloticus (silver tilapia) and uses Zigler ( prescribed for this species) here in Trinidad. If you have any questions let me know. [e-mail]

Sean Smith said:

That is a very good idea and I will have a chat with them to see what they can do for me. How is your project going? How long have you been doing this?


TCLynx said:

Yea, it's kinda tough on an Island. Are there any farm type feed stores on your island? You might ask what different feed lines they carry then perhaps you could find out if any of those companies produce any sort of dense culture fish feeds. Purina Mills makes Aquamax and their Dense culture 4000 is pretty good for providing nutrients while not mucking up the water quality too bad. If the feed store carries any lines that have a good fish food, you might be able to get them to put a bag of two on the next shipment.

Good Luck with it.

[Harold Sukhbir]

Rotoplastics or Century Eslon manufacture Poly tanks 1000 gal. but they are 6 ft. tall. These will work for AP. The reasons we prefer shorter tanks in AP is because they require lower head pressure so you can use a smaller water pump and smaller air pump for aeration. You can sink your tank into the ground to achieve the 4 ft. ceiling( less head for water pump) but will require a larger air pump at 6 ft.(your fish to bed ratio will determine air cfm.)

[Tropical Aquaponics]

Do you know the diameter and the cost of these tanks (US$)? Wow, you would not believe how much emails I've sent to Roto-plastics and I'm yet to get a response. They would be nice for my next system that I'm looking to set up to provide fresh fish for my community. Do have have anyone at either of these company that I can contact directly to look about shipping. I would have to establish a company here to get duty free concession.

Thanks again...


Harold Sukhbir said:

Rotoplastics or Century Eslon manufacture Poly tanks 1000 gal. but they are 6 ft. tall. These will work for AP. The reasons we prefer shorter tanks in AP is because they require lower head pressure so you can use a smaller water pump and smaller air pump for aeration. You can sink your tank into the ground to achieve the 4 ft. ceiling( less head for water pump) but will require a larger air pump at 6 ft.(your fish to bed ratio will determine air cfm.)

[Harold Sukhbir]

Diameter approx 5 ft.Request open top. Cost approx $2000.00 TT Ask your local hardware store, they can order it for you.

Sean Smith said:

Do you know the diameter and the cost of these tanks (US$)? Wow, you would not believe how much emails I've sent to Roto-plastics and I'm yet to get a response. They would be nice for my next system that I'm looking to set up to provide fresh fish for my community. Do have have anyone at either of these company that I can contact directly to look about shipping. I would have to establish a company here to get duty free concession.

Thanks again...


Harold Sukhbir said:

Rotoplastics or Century Eslon manufacture Poly tanks 1000 gal. but they are 6 ft. tall. These will work for AP. The reasons we prefer shorter tanks in AP is because they require lower head pressure so you can use a smaller water pump and smaller air pump for aeration. You can sink your tank into the ground to achieve the 4 ft. ceiling( less head for water pump) but will require a larger air pump at 6 ft.(your fish to bed ratio will determine air cfm.)

[Tropical Aquaponics]

I went to the the website for Century Elson and they gave me the number for the local contact. I tried to call him but, no answer, so I sent an email. I will be sure to follow up, thanks...

[Ken Richardson]

I know this is off the wall question, but does anyone know for sure if Tilapia will eat turnip and collard greens? They grow fast and I know tilapia will eat leafy veggies but not sure about these. I think TCLynx if anyone knows, it would be you being in the area your in.

[David Nabong]

Ken,

food stress them for a few days to a week, chop it up fine and run it in the microwave for a minute. Watch them closely for the first few feedings, and depending on your system, clean up after them, though they can handle quite a bit of water fouling. Depending on the age of your fish really all your adding is feed diversity and will still need to supplement fat and protein.


Ken Richardson said:

I know this is off the wall question, but does anyone know for sure if Tilapia will eat turnip and collard greens? They grow fast and I know tilapia will eat leafy veggies but not sure about these. I think TCLynx if anyone knows, it would be you being in the area your in.