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FloridaChris
03-19-2013, 08:38 PM
Hey guys,
First post on this forum. Mainly stalked BackyardAP, but hoping to find some same continent help and maybe even some local advice (Florida). About to make the jump into AP. Picking up my barrels tomorrow, my pump is in the mail, and checking HD for grow medium tomorrow. Quick question, can fish eat and properly digest spent grain? I brew my own beer and was wondering if I could kill 2 birds with one stone by feeding them the spent grain. I currently trade them with a farmer for chicken eggs. I wish I could just have my own chickens, but I'm not zoned... bunch of bs. Anyways, thanks in advance for the advice.

Regards,
Chris

JCO
03-19-2013, 11:35 PM
Welcome to the forum...pull up an easy chair and relax. As for the grain idea, fish are not grain eaters per sey. Companies do put corn in a lot of fish food but that is only to make it float; additionally it is very fattening for the fish. Try putting the grain in a vermiculture (worm bed) and feed the worms to the fish. :mrgreen:

FloridaChris
03-20-2013, 05:17 AM
I will have to look into that. I was originally thinking of just doing goldfish for the FT, as I am not planning on eating the fish only looking to use them as a organic fertilizer. Would goldfish eat earthworms??

JCO
03-20-2013, 09:48 AM
Goldfish will work just fine and they will eat worms with no problem. :mrgreen:

bbikebbs
03-20-2013, 01:50 PM
Goldfish will work just fine and they will eat worms with no problem. :mrgreen:

It's what I started my system with. I bought the "feeder" kind from one of the big box pet stores for $0.27 each. I would even get a $3 coupon for taking their online survey and got a bunch free. I also started a warm farm and have been feeding the blue gills from it. The gold fish will be too slow to get the first worms of the day but when the blue gills slow down, they finally get theirs.

FloridaChris
03-21-2013, 05:31 AM
I was planning to get the same type of feeder fish to start off with. How many do you think I need for 2 GB's and a 45-50 gallon fish tank? Did you just catch the bluegills yourself or did you purchase them somewhere?

When introducing the fish to the system, I saw you put the bags in the water first so the temp/pressure fluctuations doesn't mess with them to much. Is there anything else I should be doing when introducing these fish to the system?

keith_r
03-21-2013, 06:22 AM
after you've had the bag in the tank for a bit and the temps are about equal, put a cup of the tank water in with the fish..wait a few and do it again..
i "salt dip" before putting into my tank, i'd especially recommend this if you are bringing fish in "from the wild" - a salt water dip (35ppt - sea water strength) will kill parasites

bbikebbs
03-21-2013, 07:57 AM
I was planning to get the same type of feeder fish to start off with. How many do you think I need for 2 GB's and a 45-50 gallon fish tank? Did you just catch the bluegills yourself or did you purchase them somewhere?

When introducing the fish to the system, I saw you put the bags in the water first so the temp/pressure fluctuations doesn't mess with them to much. Is there anything else I should be doing when introducing these fish to the system?
I had friends give me two full grown blue gills that they caught. They were eating the gold fish so I had to get rid of them. I eventually bought 1"-2" ones. They play nice with the gold fish now!

FloridaChris
03-21-2013, 09:23 AM
keith_r - You care to explain a little more about this salt dip? I am definitely going to put mosquito fish in my system, as I live right on Tampa Bay and we have a monster mosquito problem any month the doesn't stay below 70 degrees consistently, which is pretty much 11 months a year!

keith_r
03-21-2013, 10:22 AM
i learned it from an aquaculture guy,, whenever he brings fish into his RAS system from his ponds, he has a bucket of salt water - don't uses table salt, or salt with anti-caking agents, aquarium salt is too expensive, you can get "pure" salt from pool suppliers/hardware stores (pool salt)
after bringing the water the fish are in to about the same temp as the tank, net the fish out, put them in the salt water bucket (35ppt), and within a minute or two the fish will seem to flounder, thats when you pull it out and put it in your ft..
the salt water (this is my understanding) causes parasites to basically explode..

Aloha Don
03-21-2013, 06:01 PM
Do you do this "salt" bath only to new fish you are introducing or is it part of a maintenance program....once every 6 months/once every year, etc. In other words, how often should you subject your fish to this?
Thanks for your information.
Don

FloridaChris
03-21-2013, 08:25 PM
Don - he only does this to wild fish he puts in. I am going to catch a few indigenous minnows that are known to eat mosquito larvae and put them in my fish tank. To properly cleanse the fish of unwanted parasites you would clean them in this salt bath.

Do you know if I can just use ocean saltwater? I live on the Bay here in Tampa. It's like 85% salt, 10% fresh, and 5% "you don't want to know" water...

bbikebbs
03-22-2013, 09:06 AM
... i'd especially recommend this if you are bringing fish in "from the wild" - a salt water dip (35ppt - sea water strength) will kill parasites

I would take this to mean you probably could. I'd be cautious as to what "stuff" would be in the salt water however.

keith_r
03-22-2013, 12:45 PM
yes, this is just a treatment when introducing fish to the system.. salt is one of the few things i'll use if fish are showing signs of stress or infection..
i;ve seen systems that people only add salt when there appears to be trouble with the fish.. 1-3ppt for tonic/treatment.. if a fish shows signs of some kind of infection, i have a "hospital" system i can salt higher.. i only go to 6ppt for yellow perch, i've seen people with tilapia treat with 12ppt - these higher doses will kill plants, thats why i use a hospital tank
most plants will be ok up to 3ppt, but that's when strawberries and cuke's start to suffer/die
just investigate your fish first regarding salt..i've heard/read that catfish won't do very well with salt over 3ppt, so like i said.. do your research

FloridaChris
03-24-2013, 07:25 PM
Thanks for the info Keith. I was thinking of starting a second fish tank of the side like your "hospital" tank.

As for food again, will goldfish eat banana peels? I have a bunch of lettuce, kale, and cilantro I was going to feed them once they start eating, but what about banana peels?

keith_r
03-25-2013, 07:20 AM
regarding the saltwater..i use my tank water and add salt (pool salt) to it..
i don't think they'll eat banana peels..some people will bury a banana peel in their growbeds for potassium, i'd only do that if my growbeds had a healthy worm population
get a good fish food as your primary food, not only your fish, but your plants depend on it.. supplement with greens if your fish eat them