Anyone raise fish for food?

[JoJo 95]

I always go fishing and I catch fish for bait. I usually have some small perch and catfish left over. So I decided to raise them for food. Any advice on how to raise them, pond construction, types of fish or anything useful.

 

[pongoid]

No but I am thinking of doing that. Here in South Dakota many rivers and streams have been poisoned by the gold, lead, silver and tin mining from the BlackHills. Most companies settled with the state and individuals a long time ago but that doesn't help the water.

So....I was going to raise them in artificial dams but someone said the mercury fall out from the rain in South Dakota was too high. Coal plants in Canada is the cause and wind patterns are the delivery system. This person told me after about 3 years the fish in the pond would be beyond the EPA's limit to eat.

 

[JoJo 95]

that is sad. people can't have fun because other people r to greedy

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

There's a guy in Wisconsin who made an inner city urban farm project where his greenhouse water gets filtered into Tilapia runs under the veggies growing in tabletop containers. Its a really good looking system; the Tilapia waste gets recycled into the fantastic composting systems, it looks like a great system.

So my city code forbids livestock "...except for birds and fish." since 1977. So, I have the notion that SOMEBODY back then had the idea to grow some fish in their backyards!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I dug me a fishing pond, about 3/4 of an acre, about 12 years ago. Seemed I rarely had time to go fishing, but with my pond at home, I can go out & catch a couple & have them cooking in a half hour. I

my pond!

My dogs

it too.

 

[JoJo 95]

anything small scale?

 

[JoJo 95]

???

 

[BackyardAR]

Search on Aquaponics for fish/hydroponic growing, or aquaculture for just fish growing.

 

[Camelot Farms]

We did. Had forty 10lb catfish in our pond. Went out one day last July and every one of them was floating belly up. Apparently we had a pond turnover and they all died in a matter of hours. It was horrendous. Poor DH had to put on his waders and fetch those stinkin carcasses out of there before they drew every predator for 10 miles. The vultures gathered before we even got out there.

And just where do you put 400lbs of rotting fish? Let's just say...I gave the attendant at the landfill a nice batch of cookies the next week

 

[alicefelldown]

There's one I'm thinking of but I can't get the google keywords right. I'll keep digging and be back.....

'Till then,

Here is one:
http://www.mofga.org/Default.aspx?tabid=631

The tilapia are raised in what are essentially “giant aquariums.” The tanks are filled with regularly tested, clean well water and are kept inside, out of the pollution stream. (Rain carries multiple environmental contaminants, notably mercury, and bird feces are a major vector of fish diseases.) They are fed primarily a commercially prepared, certified organic, vegetable-and-grain-based fish food, but they also receive duckweed grown in the greenhouse and an occasional treat of earthworms. Bacteria growing naturally in the water consume the ammonia from the fish waste and convert it to nitrates, the form of nitrogen most accessible to plants and least toxic to fish. “Essentially, we are bacteria farmers first,” says Stewart. “We grow fish to feed the bacteria, because the bacteria have got to be there.” The resulting product is fish with white, flaky, mild-flavored, mercury-free flesh.

Another:
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2009/10/08/aquaponics-projects-growing-fish-and-vegetables/


And Another:
http://www.farmfountain.com/index.html

This project is an experiment in local, sustainable agriculture and recycling. It utilizes 2-liter plastic soda bottles as planters and continuously recycles the water in the system to create a symbiotic relationship between edible plants, fish and humans. The work creates an indoor healthy environment that also provides oxygen and light to the humans working and moving through the space. The sound of water trickling through the plant containers creates a peaceful, relaxing waterfall. The Koi and Tilapia fish that are part of this project also provide a focus for relaxed viewing.

The plants we are currently growing include lettuces, cilantro, mint, basil, tomatoes, chives, parsley, mizuna, watercress and tatsoi. The Tilapia fish in this work are also edible and are a variety that have been farmed for thousands of years in the Nile delta.​