<p>Having converted my Jacuzzi, maybe three hundred gallons of water, it supports between fifty to seventy five Tilapia. Wish I was better at the names, but most are the all white ones, and I think two variety of the darker blue and or gray ones, three Chinese Catfish I was given and three Channel Catfish I bought about a year ago and were like two inches long. Besides most of the Tilapia being eating size, I should weigh them, but hate harassing them, the Chinese Catfish are still around ten to twelve inches long and I don't know how big they can get. The guy that gave me them has like five pounds and sells hundreds each week. The Channel Catfish are well over a foot long and look like baby sharks in there.<br>
Although Tilapia are top feeders and seem to take pleasure in how much water they can splash on me during feeding time. The Channel Catfish and Chines Catfish will top feed with the rest, although the Channel Catfish gobble a whole lot down. Sort of just skimming the food off the top and coming back for more. Tilapia, at least the bigger ones might take one pellet, maybe two and probably wait for them to soften up before swallowing them, then come back for more.<br>
Since I don't really separate them, at least not yet, I assume the juvenile are munching the babies when the Mom finally releases them. They raise them in their mouth until their old enough to supposedly survive.<br>
The mere fact that after a year I have huge ones and lots of smaller ones, some to small to eat the pellet foods and probably munch on Taro roots, Taro leaves I give them and graze on any algae, there must be babies surviving in all the hiding spots to survive.</p>
<p>In addition there are 23 pots of Taro, I raise them in cinder partially submerged, each pot may hold about five Taro plants, it's time to separate them again. I took out about four, one of which was too big and rubbing on the top of the green house. Moved them to regular soil and seeing how they do. Home Depot is getting $15 to $25 for ones these size potted up. I think I have at least three varieties. Not to up on my varieties. The State was pretty much right, the parasitic wasps and lady bugs eventually got the aphids on the Taro leaves under control. I did my best to work on the ants with boric acid and combinations of sweet and greasy mixtures. The ants fed on them both for the last few months and don't seem as prevalent, although my yard and house is still over run with them and potted plants in soil all have ants, some aphids and African snail. The fact that the Plumeria is dormant without leaves, but on it's was back might have been a factor. White flies and maybe aphids often over run the Plumeria.<br>
Beyond Taro I have Roma Tomatoes that where really taking off until recently a lot of new tips went limp and not looking to good. I keep all the old leaves out and yellowing ones and can't see any pest at all, yet some of the plant is doing well. And fruit keeps coming out. The Squash is all rooted in the cinder of the Aquaponics, but growing everywhere else, including my roof. Some Basil and Collards, Cabbage or something of that family that I can trim the leaves from and steam. I grew some last year and it was great.
Well, except for a half dozen orchids I transplanted into pots with soil BioChar and cinder that my neighbor had given me awhile ago: that's what's going on with my Jacuzzi Aquaponics.
Oh, also my neighbor's nephew Daryl gave him some fish. He had been doing Hydroponics since watching all my activity, but never got fish. The wife wasn't thrilled about food in fish poo. After he lost one he gave me a huge white Tilapia. So I rigged it in it's own mini aquarium Aquaponics with an air feed and a pump circulating the water through it's own taro
