Synergyfish - Aquaponics - Dave Pennington - UCD-Dallas, TX

Our final Tuesday night presentation for the summer was provided by Dave Pennington of SynergyFish and was regarding the field of aquaponics and system design.  He also introduced us to "papercrete" a glass-reinforced paper, styrofoam, cement product used to build small domed structures.

We are the only animals on the planet that create waste that does not go back into the natural cycle.  We currently use 85% of water for planted agriculture.  Dave claimed that nutrients in food have declined by 40%.  I wasn't sure what the timeline was or the accuracy of the figure so I did a little checking.  Since 1975, based on USDA records there have been a 50% drop in the amount of calcium in broccoli. Watercress down 88% in iron content and cauliflower down 40% in vitamin C content.  Click here for more information.

Aquaponics eliminates the concept of waste and elininates the use of chemical fertilizers.

The University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix offers an intensive course on Aquaponics.  Click here for more information.

Aquaponics can be used to produce the following fish:

• Talapia (Mozambique variety)
• Goldfish (easy to grow, size self-regulating)
• Koi (easy to grow, grow throughout lifespan)
• Catfish
• Trout (high temperature sensitive)
• Bass
• Freshwater prawns
• Barramundi/Jade Perch (Australia)

Talapia are the prefered species because they are omnivorous, hearty, easily bred, fast growing and have a mild flavor.  The only drawback is that they are sensitive to cold temperatures because they are tropical fish.

Fish:Tank size ratio = 1pound / gallon in rearing tank
Recommended density = 0.25 pounds fish / gallon of water max.

Dave feeds his talapia a combination of organic pelletized fish food, black soldier fly larvae, vegetable scraps, duckweed and other "weeds".  He grows his on black soldier fly larvae which are common to Texas.  They lay their eggs in waste material, the adults do not eat, sting or bite and it is not a disease vector.  They essentially convert garbage into larvae (fish food).  When the larvae reach a certain size they stop eating and move away from the food source to pupate into adults.  Dave collects them at this time and feeds them to his fish.


For more information on Dave Pennington and Synergy Fish visit:  http://synergyfish.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRfNw64kP2A&feature=player_detailpage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=k2UzJ9tn0OU