What Feed are you using?

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I'd love to know what everyone is using for their feed.  I'm at the end of my last giant bag of AquaMax and would like to try something else, plus sell something very high quality on our website.  What do you use?  What have you tried in the past and stopped using?  Thanks!

[TCLynx]

And giving them treats is great. By the way Sylvia, the cook has become quite the fan of growing BSF larva. He went a bit overboard over feeding the bin and we have had to move some of the material into some other buckets and a worm bin. But besides that... The chickens are quite the gluttons for BSF larva. I really need to get a video camera so I can show the reaction when the chickens think some BSF larva might be forthcoming. The fish are not nearly as quick to hit them but my little chickens will muscle in on the 15 pound muscovy drake to get as much of the Larva as they can.

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Sounds like quite the entertaining party going on over there, TC. Yes, please take a video!

[David Hart]

I've been using Purina also.
I was ging to give these guys a try....
aquafarms fishfood
They have some sample packs of different size plellets.
It's interesting because they do not use 'terrestrial animals'...and of course no drugs,ect.
Draw back for me, is they are out west somewhere (?)

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I actually looked into AquaFarms, but they were about $7/lb and would only take moneyorders so I decided not go to there. See, there truly are limits to what we are willing to do for the fish!

[Greener]

just checked them out, interesting. first ingredient is always fish meal, which got me thinking about all the fish carcasses I will eventually have, after filleting my 'catches'. does anyone know much about turning fish remains into fish food?

I'm not giving up yet on producing my own, though I do think I would have to add certain extra vitamins & minerals.

[RupertofOZ]

TCLynx said:

I don't believe there is a truly "organic" commercial fish feed available. If there was, Friendlies would be required to use it in their system which is certified Organic and they are allowed to use non Organic fish feed since there is no organic choice available.

They are certified organic but that might just be for the veggies they sell, the tilapia might not be labeled as Organic I suspect.

You're correct TCL...


The Friendlies FAQ says

Our organic certifying agency, Oregon Tilth, approved our organic certification as an aquaponics farm (the first such in the United States), including the use of non-organic fish food; because no such fish food was available. They said it was analogous to the situation that occurs all the time where a soil-based farmer is allowed to use manure on his crops from animals that were NOT fed organically, but the crops are still certified organic. Oregon Tilth has said that "at the time an organic fish food becomes available, we must use it". At this writing, no organic fish food is currently available in packages larger than the 4 ounces sold at $6.95 from our local aquarium stores, and Tilth has said we must be able to get a "reasonably affordable" organic fish food.

The certifying agency is one of the plethora of such agencies... which have increasingly extended the "allowable inputs" concept.... to the point where the "organic certification"... is now meaningless...

And yes... the vegetables are certified... the fish and system as a whole... really aren't.... they've just been "exempted"...

[David Hart]

When I went to the Small Farms conference (here in Central FL) a few weeks ago....One of the speakers on aquaculture said that Purina was working on an 'organic' fish food.
That'll be interesting to see what they actually come up with....? Looking forward, to what you'll have to say on thier formula. Rupert

RupertofOZ said:

TCLynx said:

I don't believe there is a truly "organic" commercial fish feed available. If there was, Friendlies would be required to use it in their system which is certified Organic and they are allowed to use non Organic fish feed since there is no organic choice available.

They are certified organic but that might just be for the veggies they sell, the tilapia might not be labeled as Organic I suspect.

You're correct TCL...


The Friendlies FAQ says

Our organic certifying agency, Oregon Tilth, approved our organic certification as an aquaponics farm (the first such in the United States), including the use of non-organic fish food; because no such fish food was available. They said it was analogous to the situation that occurs all the time where a soil-based farmer is allowed to use manure on his crops from animals that were NOT fed organically, but the crops are still certified organic. Oregon Tilth has said that "at the time an organic fish food becomes available, we must use it". At this writing, no organic fish food is currently available in packages larger than the 4 ounces sold at $6.95 from our local aquarium stores, and Tilth has said we must be able to get a "reasonably affordable" organic fish food.

The certifying agency is one of the plethora of such agencies... which have increasingly extended the "allowable inputs" concept.... to the point where the "organic certification"... is now meaningless...

And yes... the vegetables are certified... the fish and system as a whole... really aren't.... they've just been "exempted"...

[RupertofOZ]

There was an "organic" pellet feed produced in Australia a couple of years ago.... but it was only sold by the pallet load, which was beyond what most aquaponicists needed or could afford...

Interest from "commercial" aquaculture was limited, and due to the fact that it didn't include the traditional perservatives etc... a large part of the initial production run ended up spoilt before it could be sold...

The manuafacturer hasn't produced another batch since, but has indicated he would consider doing so if the demand warranted it...

The feed was trialed by a leading aquaculture research station, and found to produce similar growth rates in Silver Perch in comparison to traditional pellet feeds...

[Greener]

Greener said:

does anyone know much about turning fish remains into fish food?

Another question -- I don't have a good idea of how much fry a small (backyard) hatchery operation could produce, but could the fry provide a decent feed base to the larger fish? Am I sick to think of this?

How nutritious is tilapia (either as fry or as carcass fishmeal) for tilapia?

[TCLynx]

If you can get some good high protein feed for the fry, you could probably produce lots. I know I was feeding my chickens a net full of pumpkin seed sized fry a day for a while last summer. But the fry do need high protein feed so one would need a good culture of tiny animals going to feed them, or have to buy the high protein fish fish meal to get them to not eat each other.

sick, who's sick, we talk about growing maggots here for crying out loud!!!!! Feeding fish to fish isn't such a big deal. (however adult tilapia are not likely to eat live fry, you would probably have to process them into fish meal to add to your mix to make your own feed. Catfish that are fed well on pellets are too lazy to try and catch tilapia fry and fingerlings which are really fast. Trout might be another story but not temperature compatible with tilapia fry production. I don't know about blue gill.

Greener said:

Greener said:

does anyone know much about turning fish remains into fish food?

Another question -- I don't have a good idea of how much fry a small (backyard) hatchery operation could produce, but could the fry provide a decent feed base to the larger fish? Am I sick to think of this?

How nutritious is tilapia (either as fry or as carcass fishmeal) for tilapia?

[Greener]

hahaha, sicko..

Thanks for great reply TCLynx. I might look into this a little more. I'm skeptical it would be worth the costs & effort..

[Jim KNott]

In reply to your post about AquaFarms Fish Food, I'm sorry that you didn't read further .... we take PayPal and USPS Postal Money Orders ..... too many bad personal checks, cashier's checks, and 7-11 money orders has caused us to shy away from anything but the two types mentioned above. That $7 per pound is for 1 or 2 pounds, which will provide a high quality feed to the homeowner who raises cichlids/goldies etc. We have a bulk price list available upon request for those who are interested in larger quantities. We sell on eBay, DIY Aquaponics, and other places. Our fish food uses no-terrestrial animals, nor their feces, (no mad cow disease, no Brucellosis, no trichina worm infested pork, which has been approved for fish food by the FDA) no hormones, no drugs, no steroids, and no chicken feathers (a no-value filler which is called a "binder"). The idea of using terrestrial animal products for tilapia feed is abhorent, since they would not eat this kind of protein in the wild, nor are their digestive systems equipped to assimilate it into the body. Tilapia will grow 1 pound for every 1.2 pounds of food they eat, but only if it is quality food. Take a look at your dog food, if it is all grains you will have a heckuva mess to clean up in the yard, but if you feed them a quality food, they assimilate it into strong bones and muscle. It's the same way with Tilapia, if you feed them garbage, they won't gain that needed weight, it will all end up on the bottom of the tank as feces. Tilapia, unlike the salmonids are Omnivorous --- while they are young, say, up to the fingerling stage, they are carnivorous, as they grow older, they become Herbivorous. That is the reason for the two different types of foods we sell. Up to fingerling stage, we feed a high protein 55%, high fat 17%, feed which is more directed at the carnivorous needs of the fish, and as they grow into the Young Adult stage, we feed a lower protein 42%, and lower fat 14%, which is more herbivorous in nature. This food can also be used for invertebrates, salmonids, carp, perch, and catfish. We have many customers who like our food, so we invite you to go to our website and order a sample before you decide. All ingredients are available on our website at www.AquaFarmsFishFood.webs.com. Also, you can read our feedback on eBay. This food may be considered expensive by many fish farms who only care about making money, not about the health of the people who eat the fish, but as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for! We are mostly selling to people who are passionate about what goes into the animal that they intend to put into their own stomachs and of their friends and families. Just one more thing .... Every dollar you spend for high quality fish food is a dollar less that you will spend at the grocery store. We currently have a sale on DIY Aquaponics for the members there if you want to give us a try.