Comment

Comment by Fred Countryman on June 5, 2012 at 5:30pm

 

Hi Sheri

The reason I wanted to go with Tilapia was to sell the fingerlings on ebay & use some of the adults as a food source. I'm trying to retire and still need some extra income to pay the bills. As for other fish anything native to Oregon (Blue gill, bass, crappy or perch) All fall under Fish & Game regulations with its own little paper work hell to explore. What I don’t under stand is If I just started raising Gold fish (That Can! Live in our rivers and lakes)

that would be OK and have no requirements to follow.

About 12 years ago we built a back yard decorative pond, 20 ft. across & 4 ft deep We bought some feeder gold fish to put in it those guys are now almost a foot long and have been spawning for at least 10 years once a year we have to remove most of the smaller ones just to keep the pond from getting over populated. Allowing Gold fish that can & do thrive in the wild and Not allowing Tilapia that would certainly die is just Inviro kookery.

I think I see a Don keyhotey

wind mill in my future.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 4, 2012 at 10:41pm

Fred, Have you considered any other species that is suited to the Oregonean environment? In AZ tilapia is a good fit because of our extreme temps, but the cooler Oregon temps opens the door to other species. And...there might be a fish out there that you could take for a walk without upsetting your big brother.

Comment by Fred Countryman on June 4, 2012 at 7:19pm

 

Hi all it's been a few years scene I have raised fish when I found out about Tilapia I just have to start again. Combining raising fish and gardening is such a natural fit.

Now the bad news. I'm in the most restrictive state in America (Oregon) at least when it comes to non native fish. Before I can even buy the Tilapia I must get a commercial license promise to keep them behind a locked gate get a vet to confirm that my fish are healthy then another permit to take them off my property.

(Like I’m going to take them for a walk)

If my tank is out side I have to keep a net over them so predators wont take one and drop it in a local stream (Local water temp 40 to 45 degrees) last time I checked Predators eat what they catch and it just goes on and on.

Now I know where the saying

Government gone wild comes from.

Wish me luck.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 1, 2012 at 1:35pm

Thank you, Jon!  My great memory is very short. :)

Bob, I strongly advise getting a second blender or coffee grinder off Craigslist or from Goodwill. The marriage is more important than the fish, trust me.

If you buy the food, whatever you buy, look at the labels. Fry, around 40% protein & 10% fat works really well. Reduce as they age, down to 30+protein.

Comment by Jon Parr on June 1, 2012 at 1:35pm

Tilapia munching Mosquitos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vlvscNYQE&feature=youtube_gdat...

I used to keep a dozen five gallons buckets out back, and each day I'd pour the most mature mosquito larva through a fish net. The big ones would go to the fry tank, the little ones would go back in the bucket to get bigger. Feed the Mosquitos with a little rabbit food or leaves, or crass clippings in a bucket, anything to stimulate an algae bloom

Comment by Jon Parr on June 1, 2012 at 1:21pm

I'm the one who uses rabbit food, Sheri. And no need to grind it up, it loosens and fluffs within seconds of hitting the water. And I don't recomend rabbit food for young systems, or under-sized media systems. It produces tons of nitrogen, indeed it could be the sole fertilizer without the fish! Try a little, but fry prefer higher protein diets anyway. Tilapia are good eaters. It doesn't need to be ground up, like Sheri said, it will soften and they'll pick away at it until it's gone. Tilpaia will eat grass clippings, dog food, table scraps of most any kind, and definately mosquito larva. I'll try and dig out a clip of that

Comment by Bob Vento on June 1, 2012 at 12:34pm

Oh My ... rabbit food not droppings LOL

What kind of organic dog/cat food? I am assuming dry food? Guess I should grind it up for the fingerlings? Same with the rabbit food.

Wonder if my wife will let me use the blender?

Regards,
Bob

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 1, 2012 at 12:29pm

Never apologize for asking questions! We all learn from them. :)

Check pond stores for duckweed. It's sold differently in different regions, though.

Tilapia do eat mosquito larva, but not always well enough. Mosquito fish can help.

I've noticed that our tilapia are picky about the kind of bugs they'll eat, so try things in small quantities and test them out.

Rabbit pellets as in rabbit food, or rabbit droppings? One guy on here (doggone, I can't remember his name...) feeds his fish rabbit food, which is mostly timothy grass. But that's different than the normal lawn grass. It sounds like he's doing very well with it.

As for droppings, you can feed tilapia rabbit and chicken droppings as well. But anytime you feed waste, you're taking a calculated risk of introducing bad bacteria and organisms. That said, many are doing so successfully.

While you're testing, you can get some organic dog/cat food to supplement until you have your home-grown food established. Lots of options! Whatever you decide, please share what you learn!

Comment by Bob Vento on June 1, 2012 at 12:09pm

Awesome idea with the frozen treats Kenyon. Thanks for the great tip.

I prefer to stay organic and use duckweed but don't have any.
Would love to grow some but don't know enough to get started.
Or where to buy some duckweed locally in Miami?

How do you grow meal worms? Is there a link where I can learn?

Will the Tilapia fingerlings eat mosquito larve if any end up in my FT?

Guess I could start with rabbit pellets chopped up? Fresh grass clippings in a mesh bag and small insects?

Gosh ... Sorry for so many questions.

Regards,
Bob

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on June 1, 2012 at 12:04pm

Bob, there are many answers to your question, and everyone has their own preferences. You need to decide what works best for you & your fish. Here are some more ideas:

Off-the-shelf:

We start our fry on the Tetramin flakes you get at Walmart. It's costly per pound compared to other foods, but they only eat it for a couple months, until they can manage small pellets. Since we breed the fish, this works best for us. The flakes are very easy to work with, crumble easily to fit their size, and have a nice, high, protein content.

Some (I do this sometimes, too) will grind pellets for the little ones. You can also simply feed the fry pellets if you want. The fry will munch on the pellets as they soften in the water. Or you can pre-soak them before giving them to the fish.

AS they get bigger, feed them 1/8" pellets, and increase pellet size as they grow. The protein content should be higher when they're young, and can be reduced as they get older. People seem to be successful with a variety of foods, including catfish and pond food. Purina is a common producer, but there are others, and most producers have an organic line. Tilapia do well on omnivour food.

Home-grown:

Obviously we're not starting out organically or home-grown, but we're working on it. I just traded a bunch of red wigglers for mealworms, and am starting my mealworm colony. In fact, I my first beetle emerged today! :)  We'll be doing soldier flies soon, too, and we already raise duckweed. Our chickens eat all of these things as well, so the foods we raise and will be raising provide both fish and foul. Our goal is to do as Kenyon is doing, and raise all the food ourselves. (You rock, Kenyon!)

BTW, duckweed is good, but I don't know if they'll eat grass clippings. And, you have to make certain you're not putting any chemicals on anything you feed the fish. Pesticides can be deadly to them. I read a study that showed you can feed tilapia up to 1/2 their diet in dried duckweed without any problems. More than 1/2 and their growth slows down.

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