I am interested in aquaponics/aquaculture as a means to make some $$ any ideas?

Smertrios · 05-06-2009, 10:07 PM

There are 2 tracts of 80 acres I am looking at and both have potential IMO. One is pasture land surrounded by cropland and that being the case it gets alot of runoff water because of this irrigated ground surrounding it.

The other is near a channel of the platte river and ample water is a mere 2-3 feet down most of the time. This tract has the advantage of being more level compared to the pasture land mentioned above.

As for the livestock my favorites for outdoor ponds are channel catfish and crayfish tolerant to coldwater or capable of growing out during the warmer months. These outdoor ponds can also grow water plants that will be useful as supplemental feed to the indoor tilapia and australian redclaw crayfish I would likely be growing.

Tilapia as I understand then can grow upto 3 pounds in 9 months with 85 degree water *but* get lethargic at around 65 degrees and die at 45 degrees. The australian crays can get to 300 grams in 6 months and over 1-1/2 pounds in about 2 years.

Mostly looking for ideas about what is or is not profitable. Seems to me that no matter what I do marketing is going to be the hardest most time consuming part of it all. I am not sure what the USDA, FDA would require for the fishes and plants grown.

Omaha · 07-14-2009, 01:54 PM

Interested to see how this is coming for you. Your plan sounds incredibly fun and rewarding. Lot of work, but that's part of the fun.

05-06-2009, 10:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
Smertrios Smertrios has no status. Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I am interested in aquaponics/aquaculture as a means to make some $$ any ideas? There are 2 tracts of 80 acres I am looking at and both have potential IMO. One is pasture land surrounded by cropland and that being the case it gets alot of runoff water because of this irrigated ground surrounding it. The other is near a channel of the platte river and ample water is a mere 2-3 feet down most of the time. This tract has the advantage of being more level compared to the pasture land mentioned above. As for the livestock my favorites for outdoor ponds are channel catfish and crayfish tolerant to coldwater or capable of growing out during the warmer months. These outdoor ponds can also grow water plants that will be useful as supplemental feed to the indoor tilapia and australian redclaw crayfish I would likely be growing. Tilapia as I understand then can grow upto 3 pounds in 9 months with 85 degree water but get lethargic at around 65 degrees and die at 45 degrees. The australian crays can get to 300 grams in 6 months and over 1-1/2 pounds in about 2 years. Mostly looking for ideas about what is or is not profitable. Seems to me that no matter what I do marketing is going to be the hardest most time consuming part of it all. I am not sure what the USDA, FDA would require for the fishes and plants grown.

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07-14-2009, 01:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
Omaha Omaha is building a pond. Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 311 Thanks: 145 Thanked 57 Times in 43 Posts	Interested to see how this is coming for you. Your plan sounds incredibly fun and rewarding. Lot of work, but that's part of the fun.