Aquaponics is a method that facilitates growing fish in water that is used as fertilizer for plants.
Tilapia is one of the species of fish that is commonly used in aquaponics, but does tilapia perform well in an aquaponic system?
Tilapia in aquaponics will definitely flourish in an aquaponic system. It is a hardy species and will adapt quickly to the various environments provided by aquaponic systems.
It also excretes more waste than many species of fish, which is beneficial for plant growth as it provides an additional fertilizer source for the plants.
Why Tilapia for Aquaponics?
Tilapia is a fantastic fish selection for an aquaponics system since they breed readily. If you are going to use a plant-based diet, for example duckweed, for your fish, tilapia is a good choice.
Tilapia will breed at water temperatures between 10° and 30° Celcius.
This means they can be fast growing and robust enough to have a thriving aquaponics system under a variety of water conditions.
Tilapia are primarily grown for meat production, so there is an incentive to raise them healthy and fast-growing.
There is no real reason to use anything other than a plant-based protein source as their primary food agenda, because tilapia can easily digest many other types of vegetative food sources.
Their hardiness and adaptability is especially important when you are dealing with aquaponics systems that experience different water conditions due to having a healthy and diversified aquaponics system throughout seasons.
Tilapia also breed in different water types, including low oxygen levels.
Tilapia are well-studied fish, and because they are primarily farmed for food, there is much known about their eating habits.
They do require protein to grow well, but they don’t need a lot of it to meet their requirements or grow to their potential. This is perfect for a plant-based aquaponics system. They thrive in plant-based diets, particularly in higher biomass growing situations.
Tilapia can also handle a variety of oxygen levels, and can thrive in cold water due to a thick skin resistant to environmental fluctuations.
They can be fed whole, or even crushed, which is helpful if you are using an aquaponics environment where the fish may be grown to maturity and eaten later – and there will not be a lot of waste fed to your tilapia.
They have an absolute resistance to disease, and when they are in an aquaponics system, they are very convenient fish that do not worry about people or any potential predators.
On a fully vegetable diet, tilapia do provide a positive environmental impact, as they do not produce a ton of waste.
In addition, with the vegetation demand from tilapia, their waste produce does not just sit in the bottom of the tank getting wasted as the plants in the aquaponics system can utilize the waste sourced from tilapia fish fertilizer.
The Best Vegetables For Tilapia Growth In Aquaponics
Below are some plants that do well with tilapia in aquaponics.
Beans
Beans are a good choice for grow beds in an aquaponics system because they are quick-to-crop and provide high yields.
Their ability to be harvested often and continuously benefits the aquaponics system by keeping it clean and maintained.
Carrots
In your aquaponics system, you can plant carrots to get nutritious food that is easy to prepare and will grow quickly (in a few weeks), which is great for aquaponics.
Tomatoes
They are ideal because they yield a lot of benefit for a low labor and resource return costs.
This makes them suitable for the aquaponics system efficient paradigm. They are also versatile in use adding to their sensible solutions.
Lettuce
It’s a great plant for aquaponics systems because it’s simple to grow.
You can harvest lettuce multiple times each year which allows you to eat fresh vegetables very easily.
Why You Should Feed Plankton To Your Tilapia
To allow tilapia to thrive in an aquaponics system, tilapia should be fed plankton for sometime prior to transitioning them to a aquaponic environment.
Plankton are organisms that live in water and are a great source of nutrients for tilapia and other fish species.
While you may not see many local ponds or lake with tilapia, they are one of the most common fish species due to their adaptability.
Where Can You Get Tilapia?
Tilapia can be found at a local fish shop, and it may take some time to track them down in an aquarium store.
Before buying your fish, check the water quality and make sure the tilapia are not sick or diseased.
How To Take Care Of Your Tilapia
Once the tilapia are placed in your aquaponics, you want to make sure all of their living conditions are optimal.
This means, you need to monitor temperatures, and also that you don’t see any signs of disease, or any fish that has been injured,
If possible, you want to set their environment in such a way that there is both shady and sunny areas where the tilapia can adjust to changing conditions of the day.
Types Of Tilapia Fish You Can Use In Aquaponics
Blue Tilapia
It is perfect for systems experiencing cold water temperatures. They can thrive at any time where temperatures range from 1° Celsius, up to about 30° Celsius.
This makes them perfect for places that have extremely cold temperatures as this will save someone from having to purchase expensive equipment to accurately keep the fish at their ideal temperature.
They predominantly feed on phytoplankton, being a herbivorous adult, despite many people loving their taste. The fish can be slower to reach maturity but they are still great for everyone to enjoy!
The Mozambique tilapia
This fish is not only delicious, but it also thrives in brackish or saltwater, and can survive short-term without oxygen in the water that makes them suitable for aquaponics systems.
They do well in water with a pH between 5 and 9, and during spawning, females will release hundreds of young each time, making it ideal for being raised on a commercial scale.
The Nile tilapia
This is a tough species which makes it a good candidate for aquaponics systems where water temperature or other conditions would be a challenge for any species of fish.
It can survive in temperatures from 1° Celsius to 30° Celsius. They are also flexible in water conditions and can survive in waters with low oxygen levels compared to many other fish.
It’s a fresh water fish and therefore wouldn’t survive long in saline waters as does the Mozambique.
Tilapia Feeding Guide For Best Aquaponics Growth
Tilapia fish in aquaponics systems require a mostly vegetarian diet consisting of two foods: spirulina (the “superman of algae”) and duckweed.
The two foods will generally grow naturally in most aquaponics systems, as the water fish live in is a nutrient-rich environment (along with the plants in the system) that is an ideal breeding ground for both.
Tilapia should also be given access to additional foods like brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia, and tubifex as supplemental feeds.
Lastly, you can add a little variety to their diet and allow tilapia to feed on earthworms from the land.
Feeding Chart For Tilapia Under Ideal Conditions
| Fish Size (g) | Feed Size | Feed Rate(%) |
| Post Hatch -0.6 | 1 Crumb | 20-16 |
| 0.6-5 | 2 Crumb | 16-10 |
| 5-19 | 3 Crumb | 10-5 |
| 19-76 | 1mm Pellet/Crumb | 5-2 |
| 76-151 | 3mm Pellet | 2-1.5 |
| 151-Market | 5mm Pellet | 2-1.5 |
What Are Some Problems Involved With Keeping Tilapia?
Although tilapia are a hardy and adaptable fish for aquaponics systems, there are a few considerations you want to be sure to be aware of before adding them to your system.
Since tilapia eat a diet of mostly plankton, you will need to monitor the plankton food resource in your system or they will start uprooting and eating your aquatic plants leaving you with a nutrient dilemma.
Tilapia are aggressive fish towards their food, especially in times of low or scarce food. If possible, consider adding multiple feeding stations for your tilapia to eat from.
Tilapia breed and reproduce fairly quickly, which can have a significant impact on your aquaponics system.
Due to their reproduction rates, it is important to limit their reproduction habitat to avoid a system crash of your aquaponics system while also to prevent them from eating the roots of your aquatic plants.
FAQs
Q1. How long can tilapia survive without oxygen?
Tilapia can go for 24 hours or more in water with little to no oxygen.
Q2. How do tilapia have sex?
Tilapia have internal fertilization, where the male releases sperm into the female’s vent, and they get deposited inside of her. The process is known as spawning.
Q3. How much food should tilapia eat?
Based on the research, a tilapia may consume around 3% of its body weight per day. Sounds like a lot, but really it means you can feed them daily or maybe two to three times per day, depending on your tank size and how fish you have in there.
Use small pellets that are higher in protein but lower in fat content.
Q4. How big do tilapia get?
The average size of a full-grown tilapia is between 12-18 inches long and weighs about 1-2 pounds.
The biggest recorded catch was 24 inches and 9.6 pounds.
Q5. What do tilapia eat?
As previously stated, tilapia’s primary food source is phytoplankton.
In the wild, they will also consume zooplankton, insects, small fish, worms, snails, carp eggs, and vegetation.
In an aquarium or aquaponics system setting, it is acceptable to feed them fish pellets or flakes formulated for omnivores.
Q6. How fast can tilapia grow?
The growth rate of tilapia varies with the environment they are raised in and what they eat. In ideal conditions, they can reach maturity and full size within a year.
Conclusion
When it comes to aquaponics, an excellent fish to add is tilapia – they are hardy fish that will withstand extreme pH levels.
To add tilapia in a good aquaponics system, it is simply a matter of inserting them into the system and spend very little effort and time to raise food in the most small space possible.
Most important thing to keep in mind is just monitoring your water quality to ensure you raise healthy tilapia.