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Comment by TCLynx on November 12, 2012 at 7:50pm

Find some job you can do in no time to earn money while you figure out how to earn a living from farming.  It is tricky, I'm having trouble finding such a job.

Comment by Debra Denzer on November 12, 2012 at 7:42pm

TCLynx,

Perhaps that is what is happening to me. I am going mad and am needing a slight career change. 

Comment by TCLynx on November 12, 2012 at 7:37pm

Hum, I think I simply went mad.  I had a breakdown and couldn't stand what I was doing before.  I already was addicted to aquaponics and selling valves and plumbing supplies for other people to do aquaponics.  Then I went nuts and bought the farm.

Comment by Debra Denzer on November 12, 2012 at 6:35pm

Thank you for sharing your insights. I have been in the landscape industry for a long time. I did not think, at any point, aquaponics would be easy. I expected it to be a great deal of work. I would, however, like to make a livable wage off of it, if possible. I  am looking at the possibility of starting an aquaponics business. Simply researching the possibilities at this point. I believe any business comes with risk. Is that not part of any entrepreneurial venture? Why did all of you decide to get into this business? What type of capital did you have when you started? Is the business you currently have financially beneficial to you?

Comment by TCLynx on November 12, 2012 at 5:25pm

It isn't that Aquaponics isn't profitable.  It is more that it is not "easy" nor a "sure thing" to make it a profitable business.  It is FARMING and therefore NOT a way to get rich quick and it has lots of risk if you have to go into debt to do it.  I highly recommend Not going into debt to get started in any sort of farming since by it's very nature it will take a period of time before there is any chance of income with which to make payments on the "loan" let alone provide an income on which to live.  And that is totally beside the fact that you actually have to sell your product for more than it costs you to produce it.  This can be difficult in an economy where food is currently very cheap.

Comment by Greg Pettengill on November 12, 2012 at 4:20pm

This is a good example of agro-ecology.

Veta la Palma is an aquaculture farm located on an island in the Guadalquivir river, 10 miles (16 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean in Seville province of Spain. It produces 1,200 tons of sea bass, bream, red mullet and shrimp each year. Given its 32 km^2 area this gives a yearly yield of 37 tons per square kilometer. Yet unlike most of the world's fish farms, it does so not by interfering with nature, but by improving upon it.
Dan Barber describes it as "a farm that doesn't feeds its animals, a farm that measures its success by the health of its predators and a farm that's literally a water purification plant."
Veta la Palma is also the largest and most important[who?] privately owned bird sanctuary in the world because of the 250 different species of birds feeding on the fishes of the farm. This farm is owned by food majors Hisparroz. Hisparroz president, Luis Contreras says "We call it the pata negra of sea bass."

Comment by matthew ferrell on November 12, 2012 at 3:51pm

There are some excellent commercial feeds out there.  I am achieving FCRs of .9-1 from fry to 3lb trout at the moment. 

Also vertically integrated operations are really dangerous for small enterprises because you assume all of the risk for the entire production.  One failed crop could sink you.  Additionally feeding and housing broodstock can become problematic depending on the species.  At the very least I like to break it down into a seed stock producer and a finishing production.

Comment by Greg McCord on November 12, 2012 at 11:23am

Hi Debra. I have been in the koi pond and water garden business for almost 20 years now. We have a 22 X 33 green house with a large pond filled with large fan tail gold fish. 120 to be exact. These fish feed our aquaponics very well and I sell them for $10 to $15 each! Raising gold fish and Koi is very profitable and can greatly increase your income along with your veggies. There are many wholesalers who sell them as fingerlings and will mail them to your front doorstep. I strongly suggest anyone going into the commercial end of Aquaponics to consider using Koi or fancy gold fish because ounce for ounce and pound for pound they can just about beat all the competition on your ROI. As others have said below, there's a lot to selling edible fish but very easy to sell fish as pets. My fish just had babies so I will need to take a load up to our local pet store and sell them. Regards. Greg

Comment by RupertofOZ on November 12, 2012 at 7:28am

Debra... the right fish can be profitable.... but Tilapia just really don't have any market value....

And selling fish has risks involved as well..

High volume fish farming has risks, and requires knowledge.. often beyond what people are prepared to invest in lerning...

And most systems are plant centric by design..

Fish feeds aren't that expensive... and probably only more expensive in AP.. compare to aquaculture.. due to volumes purchased...

And commercial fish feeds... may have some limitations... but aren't "poor"....and are constantly being improved... flaxseed replacement for corn feed.. to raise ommega 3 levels are a case in point...

Comment by Debra Denzer on November 12, 2012 at 6:42am

So, if I am following you all correctly...commercial aquaponics is not a profitable business due to cost vs. profit constraints on raising fish? That is basically what I am getting from your discussion; food costs are high, food quality is poor, and return on investment is low. Am I correct?

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