A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Arizona Aquaponics

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Helping each other to learn and grow big nutritious plants and fish to help feed the world.

Location: Phoenix
Members: 230
Latest Activity: Oct 7, 2019

Thank you all for joining my group, I hope to do a lot with all anyone interested. Please
tell me any event suggestions you would like us to do.

Started by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. Mar 21, 2019. 0 Replies 0 Likes

Started by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. Jan 4, 2018. 0 Replies 0 Likes

Started by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. Jan 4, 2018. 0 Replies 0 Likes

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Comment by Local Roots Aquaponics on December 27, 2011 at 11:17am: I am looking to buy Purina Aquamax 4000 fish food -- so far none of the shops I have checked carry it or will order it for me. Any ideas? Does anyone here use this food? Thanks in advance.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on December 26, 2011 at 11:34am: Sherri,

thank you

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on December 26, 2011 at 10:08am: Dave, it depends on the size of the fish. Here's what we do:

We use the 1/8" for all sizes. Large fish eat a few at a time and small fish pick at the pellets as they soften. For the smallest fish we grind the food in the blender, but that's not even necessary if you have them separated from the greedy bigger fish.

By the time their 1" I usually give them the 1/8" pellets. I've noticed that they can swallow the entire pellet by the time they're about 3". The 1/4" pellets would be easy enough for mature (6" or so) fish,if that's all you're feeding, but it might be harder to work with when you're feeding little fish.

It gets trickier when you have substantially mixed sizes because the big guys will eat all the food, so the little guys stay little. When we have tanks that are mixed, I feed both pellets and ground food to give the little ones a better chance to grow.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on December 26, 2011 at 9:18am: Sherri,

I am about to reorder. Which size is best for mature fish?

1/4 seems too large. What do you think?

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on December 26, 2011 at 8:37am: We started with a good deal on a 50lb bag from Rangen: http://www.mresourcegroup.com/rangen/tilapiafeeds.htm but they only sell in bulk. It gets pretty pricy to pay the local prices and it's a pain to deal with the small quantities as your fish grow. If you buy at the store (your fish are small enough for this), go to Walmart & get the big container of TetraMin tropical fish flakes. The price is way lower than pet shops and the nutrient balance is good. Don't get the goldfish food; the proteins are too low on that.

The main thing is to look at the nutrients. You want at least 30% protein for growth, and up to 45% when they're young. Fat can be up to 10%. But since tilapia are scavengers by nature, you can feed a variety of things. I've known people to feed catfish food, pond food, and even cat food!

They eat a lot of vegetation. In nature algae is their primary food. They love algae and duckweed, but will eat spinach as well. So you can supplement the fish food with your own stuff. Eventually we want to produce our own food, but one project at a time. :)

Comment by David Schwinghamer on December 25, 2011 at 10:17pm: Thanks Dave but paying 12 bucks for shipping is loco. Its best just to go buy something at a store.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on December 25, 2011 at 9:18pm: good food

http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Tilapia-Fingerling-Pellet-s/74.htm

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on December 25, 2011 at 1:46pm: Just me.. I do not like jsut one of anything.. If someting goes wrong, I like the back-up to kick in.In my outside tank (100 gal), well insulated, I have 4 400 watt aquarium heaters.

I am sure, I am over doing it, but I feel safer about my fish.

No perfectly right or wrong way to do things. Listen to the experiences of other and make your own decision as to how to proceed.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on December 25, 2011 at 1:01pm: Larry, we have an above-ground IBC & an in-ground IBC. In the summer the in-ground doesn't fluctuate between day & night, while the above ground fluctuated about 5 degrees. The in-ground stayed a consistent 85 degrees all summer. We do have it in a greenhouse w/a cooler, so we kept the air below 100 degrees. The above ground went between about 85 to 93 depending on the outside weather.

In the winter you'll still need heaters, and what you use depends on how warm you want the water. We're keeping ours around 70 degrees. Our lower tank has one 200w heater and our higher one has two.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on December 25, 2011 at 5:05am: Larry, think about looking at my system. I keep things simple and I buy what I need to keep it simple and fast.