10 Best Types Of Fish For Aquaponics

10 Best Types Of Fish For AquaponicsPhoto – Wikipedia – lic. under CC 2.0

Here are 10 of the most popular fish used in aquaponic systems, together with the reasons why people choose them…

• 1. Barramundi: You will find many people growing barramundi during the spring and winter as they’re more prone to the warm weather. Using barramundi in your aquaponic system will give you a very clean fresh taste. They are a very popular choice and are really easy to harvest.

• 2. Catfish: You’ve probably made a practice of buying catfish from the grocery store or from restaurants but you haven’t had great catfish until you’ve grown your own organic catfish in your aquaponic system. There are several types of different catfish available but one of the most popular types used in aquaponics is the channel catfish. People like catfish because they grow faster than other species of fish and give you a great bang for your buck!

• 3. Carp: Carp is one of the most commonly eaten fish throughout the entire world. The problem with carp is that they’re a little difficult to get. It’s not recommended that you mix carp in the same fish tank as your other species of fish as they have a reputation of being noxious in some respects. But certain species of carp are great for aquaponics and you’ll definitely see a decent amount of setups that harvest them.

• 4. Jade Perch: Jade perch is well known in Australia. For health purposes, the perch is absolutely amazing because it’s packed with omega 3 oils which are great for you. Some people who raise jade perch in their commercial aquaponics system actually try to make them less oily for people who would rather not have such an oily fish. They are omnivores and live in warm water. Jade perch are a great choice for any aquaponic system.

• 5. Trout: These fish are great for people in cooler areas. They can grow really fast and be used for delicious food very well. You will find trout in many aquaponic setups because they are perfect for this type of environment.

• 6. Goldfish: Goldfish are very popular amongst commercial aquaponic users; not for eating but because they can be sold to pet shops for a nice profit and if they breed you can easily turn them over quickly. It’s definitely nice to have some goldfish in your aquaponic setup.

• 7. Silver Perch: The silver perch is a very reliable type of fish that is easy to maintain which makes them great for people just getting into aquaponics. A great benefit of silver perch is that they can thrive in almost any temperature so they are seen as a very versatile fish. They don’t grow as quick as some other species however. It can take about a year to a year and a half for them to get full size.

• 8. Murray Cod: This is another popular Australian fish that can grow to be very large. As far as utilizing them in aquaponics and fish tanks, they are a growing trend. They are very popular in aquaculture and fish farming and have found their way into many aquaponic systems recently. They grow very rapidly but you have to make sure you are feeding them regularly because they have a tendency to eat each other. So you have to be careful with this species.

• 9. Koi: Koi is a type of carp fish. You may know that they are extremely popular in Asia and many people make Koi ponds specifically for this fish. They are great for aquaponics so if you love Koi, you can definitely incorporate them in your setup.

• 10. Tilapia: This is another very popular type of fish all around the world. Many restaurants use them and they are very popular amongst bodybuilders and health enthusiasts – however note that much commercially farmed Tilapia is raised in unhealthy conditions and may not be advisable to eat. To learn more about this see Why You Should Not Eat Tilapia

Now that you have some knowledge about the types of fish suited for aquaponics, try my Backyard Liberty Aquaponics.

Image Credits:

Graphic – www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com. Upper photo:- Ryan Somma – wikipedia lic. under CC 2.0 Lower photos: Pixabay (PD)

Benefits of Aquaponics

Now that you have an understanding of how Aquaponics works, you can probably guess some of the many benefits of such a great system. However, there may be some benefits that you overlooked or never even thought about. The primary reasons people set up this organic sustainable food production method are:

• To improve health (100% organic food)

• To save money

• To help the environment

In addition to those benefits, aquaponics is also extremely easy to set up. Because it requires such little space and doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, it’s possible to set up your system in a very limited space, hence the popular trend of “backyard aquaponics”.

One of the reasons some people don’t like about traditional farming is the effort and work needed to properly maintain it. It requires a lot of maintenance and constant monitoring. Harvesting is also a very time-consuming process. Aquaponics doesn’t have any of those issues because after you set up your system (we’ll give you a full walkthrough in the next chapter) maintaining it essentially means just feeding the fish. Since this method uses the nutrient-rich water from the fish tank to fertilize the plants, your vegetables will grow in a fraction of the time that they would if they were growing in soil. This means that you can get your vegetables much quicker and pretty much have fresh food on a whim. And due to the ease of the process, it’s very easy for people of all ages to maintain and care for. Getting the family involved in your aquaponics farm is a great way to have some fun while receiving many other great benefits as well.

Whatever your reasoning is for utilizing aquaponics, you are making one of the best decisions of your life and you won’t regret it.

Meanwhile, try my Backyard Liberty Aquaponics.

By Alec Deacon

How Aquaponics Works

image – public domain (Bangladesh Agricultural University)

As you know, aquaponics combines farming plants and fish symbiotically. Before you can understand how aquaponics works, it’s important to realize why it’s so essential. By combining aquaculture and hydroponics, it removes a lot of (if not all) the issues with the two separate methods.

One of the major issues with aquaculture is that when cultivating fish or other sea animals, large amounts of effluents (wastewater) is produced since it is a closed system. This matter is dangerous and toxic for the fish to live in. The result is polluted water and fish that isn’t safe to eat. So, as a result, you have to constantly change out the water every day which means wasted water. The water you’re disposing of might be harmful to the fish but it is beneficial for other purposes as you’ll find out.

One of the challenges of regular hydroponics is that it requires costly nutrients in order to feed the plants. The money spent to feed the plants often makes is difficult for the average person to sustain it over an extended period of time. There are some DIY hydroponic nutrient recipes, but it can be time consuming to create. Also, you have to flush out your system periodically. It can be difficult to find methods to constantly dispose of all this wastewater.

Aquaponics introduces a solution to these issues while providing an entirely new way to cultivate aquatic animals and plants at the same time. It’s really the future – while taking full advantage of natural principles and harmonious closed loop system. It mimics nature and the benefits of this are true abundance. This principle is one of the keys to life and could replace our current flawed, entropic model of consume-discard-destroy.

Through aquaponics, the wastewater and effluents are utilized to provide nutrients to the plants used in the process. In laments terms, the fish fertilize the plants. This enables the aquaponic system to remain a closed system without the need to constantly change out the water and also allows it to operate with minimal amounts of water.

Here’s an awesome full tutorial into aquaponics systems: Backyard Liberty Aquaponics.