Aquaponics How To

What Fish Grow in an Aquaponics System?

Choosing the type of fish for your aquaponic system has many determining factors. What you want out of your system, your climate and available supplies are probably the factors you would need to consider first. You can use goldfish if you do not want to have edible fish, or outside of Australia Tilipia or catfish. Within Australia maybe trout in the cooler climate or barramundi in the warmer months. Silver Perch is an ideal fish for an aquaponic system as an all year round fish. Check what is available at what time of the year to make sure you can get supplies when required.

There is no 'best' fish. It depends on what is available to you, what is legal for you to keep in your location and what will live in your temperature range. The qualities we recommend for a fish for a home system when a person is starting are:

1. reasonably tolerant of Ammonia;
2. able to survive at least 5 Degrees Celsius either side of your maximum and minimum ambient air temperature;
3. will easily take to pellet (fish food);
4. is happy in a tank; and
5. will not eat each other including fingerlings.
6. In South East Queensland we find Silver Perch fits the bill very well.

The Silver Perch is also known as Silvers, Silver Bream, Bidyan, Black Bream, Grunter and Murray perch. The overall body colour is silvery grey however this varies with water conditions and location and may be olive green to slate grey on the upper back and flanks. The sides are silvery and the belly area is whitish. Silver Perch have a small head and large body in comparison. The scales are small with a dark border giving the Silver Perch a patterned appearance. Silver perch are a native Australian fish that are omnivorous and grow well in lots of conditions. Their diet can also contain green scraps and grow within a wide temperature range. They can take up to 18 months to grow a fingerling to a eating size.

The Goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is still one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish. A relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the koi carp and the crucian carp), the goldfish is a domesticated version of a dark-gray/olive/brown carp native to east Asia (first domesticated in China) that was introduced to Europe in the late 17th century. Goldfish may grow to a maximum length of 23 inches (59 cm) and a maximum weight of 9.9 pounds (4.5 kg), although this is rare; most individual goldfish grow to under half this size. In optimal conditions, goldfish may live more than 40 years; however, most household goldfish generally only live six to eight years.

Barramundi can be grown through the warmer months of the year. There is a little more husbandry in as if you put fingerlings in with more mature barramundi they will think they are dinner. Barramundi is a loanword from a Queensland Australian Aboriginal language of the Rockhampton area meaning "large-scaled river fish".Originally, the name barramundi referred to saratoga and Gulf saratoga.However, the name was appropriated for marketing reasons during the 1980s, a decision which has aided in raising the profile of this fish significantly.It is broadly referred to as Asian seabass by the international scientific community, but is also known as giant perch, giant seaperch, Australian seabass, and by a variety of names in other local languages, such as Ikan Siakap or Ikan Kakap Putih in Malay.The species has an elongate body form with a large, slightly oblique mouth and an upper jaw extending behind the eye.The lower edge of the preoperculum is serrated with a strong spine at its angle. Barramundi can be kept in both fresh and saltwater aquaponic systems.

Tilapia is the most common fish used in Aquaponics systems around the world (except Australia). They are illegal in Australia due to their ability to overtake and dominate local waterways.  This small, low fat fish originally comes from Africa where it has been used for thousands of years. Recently it has become one of the most important "aquaculture" fish in the world. Tilapia are grown in large farms and produced for mass consumption. Tilapia is a white fish with a slight pinkish color. Tilapia are easy to breed, taste good, grows fast to about 300g in 8 months in hot areas, can withstand poor water conditions but require warm water.

Photos are of aquaponic systems built and/or maintained by Martin and Kerri