[Sc-aquaponics] Food Sources & Duckweed

[Tom Helmers]

I am operating a 300 plant backyard operation using Channel Catfish and
Bluegill that I purchased from Jones Fish Hatchery in Newtown, Ohio.  I
have about 80 fish.  Some of the catfish are about 12" long now.  I
purchased the Purina Gamefish Chow 52C1 50lb bags for $23.99 from Bethel
Feed mill.  The feed is pea sized so the smaller fish have to wait till
they soften to eat them.  I bought a galvanized steel garbage can to keep
the critters out and it holds 100 lbs. of feed.

Thomas G. Helmers, LMT


On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 11:46 AM, Tiu, Laura <tiu.2 at osu.edu> wrote:

> Jeff,
> I'm no expert on goldfish or shebunkins, but I thought I'd get the
> conversation started.  Others, please chime in.  In my opinion, I would
> guess that the goldfish would do well on a diet formulated for catfish or
> tilapia.  The pellet size would be dependent on the size of fish you have.
>
> One of the difficult things in Ohio is even getting access to reasonably
> priced commercial fish food in small amounts.  If you buy floating pellets,
> it can be expensive to buy small amounts at a pet store.  In my experience,
> it's often easiest to buy Purina Fish Foods, which come in 40 or 50 pound
> bags, as they have a wide distribution model and are available in nearly
> every small Purina Dealer in the state.  The challenge is, many of the
> Purina dealers don't currently carry fish food or know how to order it, so
> you may have to work with them.  Your local Purina dealer typically needs
> at least 2 weeks to get your specialty order, so be sure to plan in
> advance.  They may have to work with their supplier to get the correct
> numbers for ordering.  You can go to the Purina website here
> http://aquamax.purinamills.com/ and find a dealer an choose your product.
>  Educate yourself about protein levels and pellet size to be sure and get
> the right product for you needs.
>
> This is not an endorsement of Purina products, I think all of the major
> manufacturers of fish feeds have great products.  However, it does seem to
> me that Purina has the best distribution and availability for the small
> grower.
>
> Given that for small systems, it will take a long time to use 50 lbs of
> food, you should have a plan to properly store the food. Please see the
> attached fact sheet for additional information.
>
> I'd love to hear what others have to say about their experience.
>
> Laura
>
> Laura Tiu, PhD Aquaculture Extension Specialist
> 740-289-2071 x.121 Office | 800-297-2072 x. 121 Office
> tiu.2 at osu.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Bracken [mailto:bracken5 at columbus.rr.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 6:03 PM
> To: Tiu, Laura; sc-aquaponics at lists.service.ohio-state.edu
> Subject: Food Sources & Duckweed
>
>
>
>
>
> What kind/brand of food source would you recommend for comet goldfish and
> shubunkins in a 275-gallon IBC aquaponics system?  Most of our 18 fish are
> between 4-6" in length.
>
> Has anyone grown duckweed as their primary (or exclusive?) food source for
> their fish in an aquaponics system?
>
> I've read online about the use of duckweed, but I'm really wanting to
> learn more from those who might have done this.
>
> Thanks for any insight you can offer.
>
> Jeff Bracken
> bracken5 at columbus.rr.com
> Chemistry Teacher
> Westerville North HS
> Westerville, Ohio
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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