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badflash
02-21-2011, 11:08 AM
Another fish to consider in an aquaponics system is ornamental fish for the pet trade. Besides Koi, African Cichlids are in high demand. They grow to market size in 6 months and reproduce furiously.

Most can handle colder water than tilapia, but won't grow unless the water is in the 70's and need high 70's to reproduce.

Here are a few shots of the ones I'm breeding:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0717.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0705.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0702.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0700.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0696.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/IMG_0695.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Peacocks/peacocks.jpg

These are also suitable for livingroom & apartment setups as the fish only get to be 4"-5".

urbanfarmer
02-21-2011, 12:55 PM
Excellent idea!

keith_r
02-21-2011, 12:57 PM
i read somewhere about koi, and looked a little bit.. you really have to know your stuff, but it looks like it would be one of the most "profitable" fish if you were in it for business..
i just really like the idea of eating what i'm growing, but who knows what i'll do "down the road"

i know i'm ordering 25 yp friday! (got the ok from the boss, and more importantly the paypal account info! :lol: )

badflash
02-21-2011, 04:12 PM
Most of these fish retail for around $30 each. You can buy a lot of fillet for that. You also don't have to just do these.

If you set up a 55 gallon tank in the living room, you can grow greens right on top. These guys don't eat plants.

stucco
02-21-2011, 06:03 PM
It would be hard for me to put a knife in a fish that purdy.

badflash
02-21-2011, 06:26 PM
The fillets would be postage stamp sized :lol:

JCO
02-21-2011, 06:36 PM
These are best eaten "FISH-KA-BOBED" :shock: :o :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

stucco
02-22-2011, 04:20 AM
:lol:

rfeiller
02-22-2011, 11:46 PM
nice africans Badflash. love the peacock cichlids, are the yellows, soccolophi? (sp)

another thought would be the fish from acidic rivers such as part of the amazon, and some fish from asia that prefer pH readings in the 5.3-6.8 range which is the ideal ph range for plants and the uptake of nutrients. several of the fish bring good prices at fish club meetings.

the only cichlid native to north america, the Texas cichlid. no where near the value of badflash's africans, but if someone likes aggressive fish, here is a good candidate that is quite hardy.

some of the most valuable, like the discus can't tolerate nitrates even at 20ppm without breaking down. the infamous hole in the head problem (no it's not heximeta) is a result of high nitrates, coupled with a lack of proper nutrients. the condidtion will go away with proper water conditions and diet. flagilate protozoa are everywhere, giardia, hex, spironucleus are three common ones.

dufflight
02-23-2011, 02:12 AM
I've got a few Koi now. Going to see how fast they grow on Barra pellets. :twisted:

badflash
02-23-2011, 06:43 PM
nice africans Badflash. love the peacock cichlids, are the yellows, soccolophi? (sp)

They are Labidochromis caeruleus

badflash
02-23-2011, 06:46 PM
The nice thing about the Aulonocara sp. peacocks is that they are just about as tough as tilapia and breed quite fast. I've seen no issues with nitrates.

rfeiller
02-23-2011, 07:21 PM
all of the cichlids are tough because of the rift river and lake system. there is no outlet, very alkaline, hard and poluted waters.

i spent several years involved with the pacific coast cichlid association in 80's and 90's when a lot of the africans were just being discovered and named.

many beautiful fish.