DailyLunatic
New Member
A little background.
I'm raising Tilapia in two 5x15m open air ponds. and it is beginning to get expensive buying fish food. The population is growing and so are the sizes of the fish.
I have invested in a pelletizing machines for animal feed, (chicken, goat, etc.), and would like to be able to process DIY floating fish feed as well.
Setting aside the nutritional considerations for a moment:
What can I do other than buy a pelletizing machine dedicated to creation of floating fish feed. I'm reluctant as they are substantially larger, more expensive, and require additional processing by other machines as well. Ground fine, mixed into a paste, steamed and extruded. Need three machines for floating feed creation, each more expensive than a pelletizer alone.
I've read discussion that various ingredients can be added, but they do not go into details. Only saying things like, "Add Rice Bran", "Oil will make the feed float", etc. Both are ingredients in ordinary sinking feed, so not much help. And even then they state that the feed must be extruded, not pelletized.
I've considered a floating tray of sorts (mesh bottom) to trap the sinking feed and allow the fish to catch the feed before it falls past them. Has anyone tried anything like this?
Any other out of the box ideas you can think of would be appreciated.
-sterling
I'm raising Tilapia in two 5x15m open air ponds. and it is beginning to get expensive buying fish food. The population is growing and so are the sizes of the fish.
I have invested in a pelletizing machines for animal feed, (chicken, goat, etc.), and would like to be able to process DIY floating fish feed as well.
Setting aside the nutritional considerations for a moment:
What can I do other than buy a pelletizing machine dedicated to creation of floating fish feed. I'm reluctant as they are substantially larger, more expensive, and require additional processing by other machines as well. Ground fine, mixed into a paste, steamed and extruded. Need three machines for floating feed creation, each more expensive than a pelletizer alone.
I've read discussion that various ingredients can be added, but they do not go into details. Only saying things like, "Add Rice Bran", "Oil will make the feed float", etc. Both are ingredients in ordinary sinking feed, so not much help. And even then they state that the feed must be extruded, not pelletized.
I've considered a floating tray of sorts (mesh bottom) to trap the sinking feed and allow the fish to catch the feed before it falls past them. Has anyone tried anything like this?
Any other out of the box ideas you can think of would be appreciated.
-sterling