The Fish and the Support of Their Health and Growth - Aquaponics Gold - page 43

Feeding:
Photo 14: Tilapia feeding
Incaseyouwerewondering,therearenoORGANICFISHbecausetheUSDAcannotstand-
ardize aquaculture regulations. “What?! Fish Can't Be Organic?” - Published 11-10-2014
- Huffington Post - by Lisa J. Bunin, Ph.D., organic policy director of
Center for Food Safety , “Neither wild fish nor farmed fish can be certified organic
because no organic standards exist in the U.S. to regulate them. But that may be about to
change -- for the worse. Why? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently
proceeding with the development of organic aquaculture regulations that could allow wild
fish and ocean-based fish farms to be certified organic.” To read article: CLICK HERE.
AGAIN: When the fish are small, they always seem hungry, but the most frequent problem
for killing fish is overfeeding them. Feed the fish lightly - only what they can consume in 15
seconds. More feed than the fish can eat quickly and you are providing VERY EXPENSIVE
FERTILIZER to your plants.
We feed our fish a high-protein 'catfish chow' that includes soy-meal as a main ingredient
from local Feed and Grain Stores to feed to our tilapia. It generally comes in large 50 pound
bags. This feed floats and it's easy to access how much the fish will consume in 15 seconds.
However, for a small Portable Farms® Aquaponics System, you will not need much food
for your fish and you might want to consider a small bag of fish chow by Purina, Game
Fish Chow (32% protein) or AquaMax by Purina Mills (32% to 41% protein).
Both are excellent fish feed available at most pet stores and you will raise healthy, happy
tilapia. Please note, it's our experience that the AquaMax feed makes the water in the Fish
Tanks slightly cloudy. Plus, we don't like the smell of the feed. The fish love it and that's
what is important, but please know that the water in your Fish Tanks will be cloudy and have
a strong smell (especially if you overfeed your fish).