Tilapia food

[Chris Smith]

In an attempt to become more sustainable, on my farm, I have started researching how to make my own fish food. I live in Hawaii and we are totally dependent on imported food for both humans and animals. I am looking for alternatives to Aquamax and the other available fish feeds. I grow mainly tilapia for my systems. I am interested in any recipes for fish food that anybody has. Does anybody make their own food?
I have many potential sources of  ingredients(for fish food) that are by-products of current aquaculture operations in my area. I would like to use their waste to make fish food for Hawaii. Any input will be help full.
Aloha
Chris
Coastview Aquaponics

[Michelle Silva]

Thanks for your response Kate... great to hear from those who have experience with it.

Kate Mink said:

I have had good results with spent brewing grain in my worm bin, but I'd be hesitant to put it into my fish tank. One thing, if it sinks and your fish eat floating food, like tilapia (or vice versa) it won't help. Two, any residual alcohol won't be good for fish or bacteria, and the stuff I've gotten has smelled strongly of alcohol. Three, I'd be concerned about yeast possibly upsetting the microbial ecosystem.

 

Michelle Silva said:

Do you know anything about quantities usually used and if there is anything one needs to look out for?

TCLynx said:

the left over mash from brewing has long been used as animal feed ingredients and bulk.  I know growing power uses lots of it as worm feed and compost ingredient.

[Michelle Silva]

Douglas Becker said:

Alteration of brewed corn mash can be viable for fish food.  The book “Alcohol Can Be A Gas” by David Blume has a couple of examples for home fish food.  I’ve loaned the book out so my examples are only what I can recall.

 

Wet Distillers Grain (WDG) or even Dried Distiller Grain (DDG) will be missing some of the nutrition thats needed for tilapia.  David suggests the substrate from growing mushrooms (oyster or shiitake) is an excellent addition to blend with WDG.

 

David would say “waste nothing.”  When fermenting and distilling corn for alcohol, your waste will be - CO2 - Hot Water - WDG.  Pasteurize corn stalks or straw with the hot water from distilling (distillers water is loaded with nutrition).  Place pasteurized straw in mushroom growing bags while inoculating with mushrooms.  Take the mushroom substrate left over after fruiting and blend with DDG or WDG.  Don’t remember proportion. Other examples, distillers water for making single cell organism also can be blended for fish food (book has studies foot marked) CO2 can also be used in a tank holding spirulina, another use for WDG would be vermiculture.

 

David’s book is loaded with info some might want to experiment with.  Oh yes, it’s an expensive book but worth it.

          

Doug

[Michelle Silva]

Thanks for the info..interesting.

Michelle Silva said:

Douglas Becker said:

Alteration of brewed corn mash can be viable for fish food.  The book “Alcohol Can Be A Gas” by David Blume has a couple of examples for home fish food.  I’ve loaned the book out so my examples are only what I can recall.

 

Wet Distillers Grain (WDG) or even Dried Distiller Grain (DDG) will be missing some of the nutrition thats needed for tilapia.  David suggests the substrate from growing mushrooms (oyster or shiitake) is an excellent addition to blend with WDG.

 

David would say “waste nothing.”  When fermenting and distilling corn for alcohol, your waste will be - CO2 - Hot Water - WDG.  Pasteurize corn stalks or straw with the hot water from distilling (distillers water is loaded with nutrition).  Place pasteurized straw in mushroom growing bags while inoculating with mushrooms.  Take the mushroom substrate left over after fruiting and blend with DDG or WDG.  Don’t remember proportion. Other examples, distillers water for making single cell organism also can be blended for fish food (book has studies foot marked) CO2 can also be used in a tank holding spirulina, another use for WDG would be vermiculture.

 

David’s book is loaded with info some might want to experiment with.  Oh yes, it’s an expensive book but worth it.

          

Doug

[TCLynx]

I didn't see anywhere that Growing Power are using chicken manure in the AP, at least not directly.  I'm fairly certain the manure at their Milwaukee farm is going into the compost piles before the compost gets mixed into the worm bins and then perhaps occasionally the worms might be fed to fish or the worm castings mixed with coir and used in the plant pots or seed trays that are watered with AP water.  Definitely not the same as using chicken manure directly in an AP system.

I'm fairly certain Growing Power is not feeding chicken manure to their tilapia.

[Michelle Silva]

My mistake then, I thought it was them who had the chicken cages over the tilapia. I almost went there a couple of months ago, but never did.

TCLynx said:

I didn't see anywhere that Growing Power are using chicken manure in the AP, at least not directly.  I'm fairly certain the manure at their Milwaukee farm is going into the compost piles before the compost gets mixed into the worm bins and then perhaps occasionally the worms might be fed to fish or the worm castings mixed with coir and used in the plant pots or seed trays that are watered with AP water.  Definitely not the same as using chicken manure directly in an AP system.

I'm fairly certain Growing Power is not feeding chicken manure to their tilapia.

[TCLynx]

Growing Powers Chickens are out in a separate greenhouse.  They get to roam the greenhouse and are not in cages.

 

[Michelle Silva]

OK, thanks for the clarification.

TCLynx said:

Growing Powers Chickens are out in a separate greenhouse.  They get to roam the greenhouse and are not in cages.

 

[Sahib Punjabi]

Namaste and a Very Happy New Year everyone,

 

I just received this comment from someone viewing my initial video posting of my Aquaponic research farm :

 

"You are missing Iron. The New Alchemy institute used rabbit feed for tilapia as a way to put iron in the system instead of chelated Iron. I had a small system in the Dominican Republi and I used Fabaxea leaves as
tilapia food and it seemed to do well."

 

Any one tried this or has any opinions?

 

God bless

[TCLynx]

I don't know what Fabaxea leaves are?  Unless they meant Fabaceae leaves  in which case it is kinda vague since that is an entire family of plants and not one specific species.

 

I've not tried that one myself though.  I know of people who feed not only moringa but also mulberry leaves to their tialpia.

Sahib Punjabi said:

"You are missing Iron. The New Alchemy institute used rabbit feed for tilapia as a way to put iron in the system instead of chelated Iron. I had a small system in the Dominican Republi and I used Fabaxea leaves as
tilapia food and it seemed to do well."

 

Any one tried this or has any opinions?

 

God bless

[Chi Ma]

I got a wingless fruit fly culture a month ago. It's going strong. My White Cloud Mountain Minnows seem to like them as well as my other fish. 

 

http://www.buyfruitflies.com/

[Giorgio]

Aloha Chris !!!

I live in kauai and I'm also looking for a way to become selfsufficient,  We are about 80%  and 20% processsed food from aquamax.  We are feeding our gray Nilotica tilapia with MORINGA tree, here in kauai filipinos call it MARONGAI Please research it .  My tilapia love it and now is part of their diet but my goldies won't touch it btw the BSFL,, MARONGAI AND veggies from our system we are almost there but I still buy food for my breeding program.

Happy new year to all

[Kate Mink]

I'm also on Kauai (HI, Giorgio!) -- I tried these on my black tilapia and they wouldn't eat them. I think Bob Horn tried them on his golds, same thing. I might be interested in trying rabbit food for iron - can anyone tell me how much is a good level to use as a supplement?

For perspective, I spend abut $120 a year on Aquamax feed, and will soon be harvesting about 200 heads of Manoa lettuce a month. Even at $1 a head (and they cost $3 a head in the supermarket here), that's a great return on investment. The food is not my only expense, of course, but probably my single biggest one.

Giorgio said:

Aloha Chris !!!

I live in kauai and I'm also looking for a way to become selfsufficient,  We are about 80%  and 20% processsed food from aquamax.  We are feeding our gray Nilotica tilapia with MORINGA tree, here in kauai filipinos call it MARONGAI Please research it .  My tilapia love it and now is part of their diet but my goldies won't touch it btw the BSFL,, MARONGAI AND veggies from our system we are almost there but I still buy food for my breeding program.

Happy new year to all