Growing tropical fish in aquaponics…
Vietnam is an amazing country with a very strong aquaculture industry. Hence, I spent 10 days in this country. I had the chance to visit basa farm, prawn farm and oyster farm from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi. Also, I found the local market very interesting. Most species are displayed alive. Indeed, it is sad to see the fish suffering in such conditions but there is a very good reason for that. Very few shops and markets are equipped with a fridge. Therefore, the most efficient way to keep the flesh fresh is to keep the fish alive.
Basa and Tilapia
I saw several interesting species adapted to Aquaponics. Among which basa (Pangasius) and tilapia. Those fish are simply growing everywhere in this country. As explained several times, those fish are fast growers. Furthermore, they are able to breed very easily. Finally, the flesh is nice, they handle high density and survive to poor water quality.
Prawns
Freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergiiis) also called crayfish are widely grown over the country. They are amazing animals and can be grown in Aquaponics. Hence, why not introducing a few into the tank of a raft / Deep Water Culture (DWC) system! They can reach the descent size of several hundred grams. However, make sure they don’t eat the roots of the veges though.
I also had the opportunity to ride a bicycle around the salt water prawn farms. Above all, black tiger prawns are grown in multiple ponds. Sometimes equipped with aerators to allow the oxygen concentration to remain high. This type of Aquaculture in shallow ponds is typical to prawn farming.
Sneakhead fish
Sneakhead fish (Channa spp) is an amazing type of fish. It can be grown in multiple styles of tanks. They can resist to extreme water conditions. In contrast with other fish species, they can breath air and survive up to 4 days without water. Furthermore, it is a fast growing fish offering an amazing flesh.
Giant Gourami
Also called elephant ear fish in Vietnam, the giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy) is a very appreciated fish. It’s often served grilled. This fish can also survive in very low oxygen concentration. They can be fed with vegetables and are easy to grow. As a result, it would be an excellent candidate for aquaponics.
Pearl Oysters
I visited a pearl oyster farm where several species of oysters were present. At this stage, saltwater aquaponics is not very developed yet. However, multi-specific systems integrating fish farm, crustaceans, mollusc (such as oysters and mussels), and seaweed are coming to life around the planet.
Grouper
Grouper are grown in sea cages. The fish can reach impressive sizes but in aquaculture they are rarely grown over 6kg. However, this salt water species is currently not grown in Aquaponics.
Arowana and Saratoga
Those 2 species of fish are very similar. They present a long body with a wide mouth able to eat large preys. It makes them redoubtable predators. Those fish are designed to feed from the surface. As a result, any animal falling into the tank able to fit in their mouth will be seen as a prey!
Arapaima
Arapaima are huge fish, the general shape is close to the shape of the Arowana but the head is longer and flatter. I had the opportunity to see some huge ones of 1.2m + here. It’s an impressive fish that can also be kept in large Aquaponics tanks.
During this Vietnamese trip I had the opportunity to visit a very nice Aquaponics setup growing tropical fish. We will talk about it next week so stay tuned.
You will probably be interested to discover my six steps to build and manage an Aquaponics system. Click here to access for free! Thanks and good reading 🙂
