Choosing The Right Fish For Your Aquaponics System

Aquaponic Fish is one of the most important component of aquaponics system, since aquaponic fish will provide food and nutrition to the plant. Then it is important to choosing it wisely. Before nominate fish for your aquaponic fish, there are some criteria need to be consider to have successful aquaponics system. 

Consumable or non-consumable fish

Will you eat the fish?  Do you want to sell consumable fish or not? It is important to answer the question before choosing aquaponic fish.  In general, aquaponic fish is divided into two, consumable fish and non-consumable fish (ornament fish).  For who like to consume the fish, off course they will choose consumable fish, in the other hand for those people that do not want to eat or have consumable fish they may choose ornament fish as aquaponic fish.

Climate/local temperature

You have to choose fish that suitable your local temperature.  It is not good to choose fish that love warm water for very cold place, as well as choose cold water fish for warm climate area.  If you will build your aquaponics system in warm temperature area, then you have more advantage, since most plants refer to warm temperature and water to grow well, then no need to manipulate water temperature from fish tank.
Of course in this case we are talking about aquaponics system for outdoors, since for indoors (green house) aquaponics system you may manipulate the climate.

Local regulation

Some region have their own regulation regarding to what kind of fish can be bred for that region.  For example there are some region do not allow to bred tilapia, due to tilapia ability to adapt and proliferate rapidly, this may be threatening life of local fish.
Following are types of fresh water fish that suitable to breed in aquaponic system.

Consumable fish

  • Tilapia
  • Blue gill/brim
  • Carp
  • Barramundi
  • Silver perch, golden perch
  • Yellow perch
  • Catfish
  • Largemouth Bass

Non-consumable fish

  • Koi
  • Fancy goldfish
  • Various ornamental fish such as angelfish, guppies, tetras, swordfish, mollies


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