What to feed tilapia?

[Will Sch]

I have just started considering what exactly I should be feeding to my tilapia...  for instance what type of pellets would be recommended, and what else in addition to pellets do they need to be fed?  I am also unsure of how much/often I should be feeding the tilapia.

I am planning on feeding them some combination of duckweed, pellets, and worms.  Does this sound balanced? How much variety is needed in the tilapias diet to create a balanced fish waste with all the nutrients my plants need?

I am planning on putting worms in my grow bed and will feed the tilapia some extras.  Should I be feeding the worms other things besides the plant matter and fish waste?  Or will they do fine on just that?

I would like to do black soldier fly larvae but I am not able to raise them, would there be a suitable substitution?

I just started considering all these things at once and now I feel very confused

 

Any ideas?

[TCLynx]

I just re-filled some old worm bins and mixing some compost material with alfalfa pellets and coffee grounds I actually managed to warm up a portion of the bin so that should help keep my worms warm through the next batch of cold weather should it come soon.

 

But my worm bins have survived fine here in Florida even through last winter's extreme for here cold.

[Bill Moore]

As it's turning cold here in Nebraska, I decided to try an experiment with my vermiculture, which has been going great guns through the summer and fall.  Rather than bring them inside, I decided to remove the bottom bin that catches worm 'tea' and "plant" the rubbermaid bin that holds the worms, food and castings in my garden.  There are ventilation holes around it which should allow them to migrate into the garden as it gets colder.  Will be interesting to see if they survive the winter this way.

[Homefire]

Hi Bill,

I'm in south-central Indiana. My worms live in two luggage carriers; "clam shells" 3'x4' each.  For winter we pack straw all around.  Straw has grain in it and we feed some corn meal.  They do great over winter.  Though moles wiped them out one winter they came back from eggs in spring.  Last winter we trapped the moles and that helped. 

I don't know about them living in soil.  Maybe if you pile on veggie waste and paper.  They have to have a bacteria rich media.

 

Homefire

 

 

Bill Moore said:

As it's turning cold here in Nebraska, I decided to try an experiment with my vermiculture, which has been going great guns through the summer and fall.  Rather than bring them inside, I decided to remove the bottom bin that catches worm 'tea' and "plant" the rubbermaid bin that holds the worms, food and castings in my garden.  There are ventilation holes around it which should allow them to migrate into the garden as it gets colder.  Will be interesting to see if they survive the winter this way.

[Bill Moore]

That just gave me an idea.  Dig them up and put them in my grass/leaves compost pile. Thanks.

[Kolon]

The easyiest thing to do would be get a plastic crate punch some holes in it then fill the bin with newspaper ( not the shinny kind) and make sure the paper is ripped up and throw your fruit snd veggie scraps in their and add a little water or if you raise rabbits worms grow like crazy in their "POOP"