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A Smaller Fish’s Last View

A Smaller Fish's Last View
A Smaller Fish's Last View

A Smaller Fish’s Last View

Our ranch has an Underground Aquaponic Greenhouse with LOT of things growing in 2000 gallons of circulating water. It’s underground and a greenhouse so it is legitimately called a Walipini. This is an 8 pound Tilapia in one of my tanks that I raised from fry. I have about 700 gallons of fish tanks (7 total tanks) dedicated to fish There is another 1300 gallons that are the same circulating water. It runs all winter and is currently 65 degrees with a rain forest environment.

This particular fish is 5 years old (which is old for a Tilapia). It has mostly eaten fish pellets but will eat duckweed, chunks of tomato, and bugs. I’m pretty sure that he would eat a smaller fish in a heartbeat. He is a BIG fish for the 110 gallon tank he is in. The other fish are mostly smaller or at best as big as this behemoth. I currently have about 150 pounds of Tilapia total in the system.

The Til

I’m trying to transition from a Monster Tomato Plant that over the last 5 years has slowly dominated my float/plant tanks. (Aquaponics grows stuff without soil, nothing but water for the roots). I’m growing Orchids, a monster Hoya, strawberries, some peppers and some parsley at the moment. I will slowly cut the tomato plant back until it’s gone. Slowly replacing plant volume with different vegi’s/fruits. I have found over the last 5 years that I can grow anything I can get to sprout down there.

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: A Smaller Fish’s Last View

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Aquaponic Raised Hybrid (Sterile) Tilapia for Supper

Aquaponic Raised Hybrid (Sterile) Tilapia for Supper
Aquaponic Raised Hybrid (Sterile) Tilapia for Supper

I’ve been raising and eating my own Tilapia (sterile hybrids) raise in an aquaponic system in our 10 feet underground Wyoming Walipini.
A Walipini is an underground greenhouse. It’s very efficient, produces a lot of tomatoes and other vegis… Strawberries and I’m just now starting to grow orchids after 4 years of just fish and vegi’s. The strawberries were hard but I got them to grow and they are producing enough to feed me mouthfulls every morning now.
The tilapia weighed in at 7 pounds each and would feed 8 at a table easily. That’s a lot of fish. I keep about 300 pounds of them currently. Their poop feeds the plants which in turn clean the water.

This system has been running now for almost 5 years (in december.). I have tilapia that old. Caught these guys with a net, placed them in a cooler of ice water and the cold water numbs them do death. Don’t feed them the day before and cleaning is better lol.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.