Best Fish for Aquaponics
As one of the two main pillars of aquaponics gardening, fish are an extremely important part of any system. There are a lot of options to choose from – some large, some smaller, some edible and some decorative – so you can perfectly adapt them to your own personal preference and system.
Out of all the choices out there, we’re going to be taking a look at only the very best fish for aquaponics you can get. These are tried and tested, beloved by the community and guaranteed to work perfectly well in an aquaponics setting.
Let’s take a look!
Top 15 Best Fish for Aquaponics
These are the very best fish for aquaponics you can get – all tried and tested and guaranteed to work like a charm!
1 – Trout
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
Incredibly tasty and one of the best fish for aquaponics you can have, trout is a favorite of many (including myself). Even though it’s fairly “bony”, it makes for a delicious meal and if you just want to keep them for a long time in your aquaponic system you can do that as well – they live for up to 7 years.
They’re also good looking fish (very classical and normal) and come in a few varieties, from brown to marble and even rainbow trout.
2 – Salmon
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
Very similar to Trout, Salmon is an excellent fish for aquaponics. Not only is it a great producer of nutrients due to its size and diet but it’s also equally as durable as Trout while offering a delicious taste and unique red coloring that people absolutely love. There are also a few types of salmon you can choose from but the Coho Salmon shown here in the picture is among the most popular.
Be it solely for nutrient production and display or for eating as well, it’s a fantastic choice for any system.
3 – Tilapia
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
Having exploded in aquaculture popularity in the last couple of decades, Tilapia is now the third most important fish in aquaculture. Due to its soft but pleasant taste, super easy preparation and affordable price, it’s widely consumed and enjoyed.
They’re a fast-growing and short-lived fish that has a mostly vegetarian diet, making them great for aquaponics while their high protein content and large size make them a great meal as well.
4 – Blue Gill (Brim)
Size: Average
Edible: Yes
Known for their uniquely beautiful looks – deep blue and purple face, dark-olive bands and vibrant orange or yellow belly – Blue Gills are a treat for the eye. Apart from the visuals, Blue Gills are also quite tasty and mostly cooked on a pan as they never outgrow its size (hence them being called panfish).
They eat a lot for their size and as such will also produce a fair amount of fertilizer for the plants – excellent for aquaponics.
5 – Carp
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
One of the largest and oldest freshwater fish families, Carps are extremely hardy, adaptable and have a fairly long lifespan of 20 years on average. They’re quite large, good looking and delicious (even though they’ve got an unfairly bad rep in the US), hence their popularity.
They’re easy to maintain, quite beautiful and very entertaining to feed as well due to their friendly nature.
If you’re looking for great fish for aquaponics, you can’t go wrong with a good ol’ Carp.
6 – Barramundi
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
Barramundi (also known as Asian sea bass) are a highly popular aquarium and aquaculture fish, for different reasons.
Their entertaining antics and beautiful looks make them great for display while their rapid growth and great taste make them excellent for aquaculture (due to commercial appeal) and aquaponics (due to resilience, size and nutrient production).
7 – Perch
Size: Average to Large
Edible: Yes
Silver, Golden or Yellow, Perch is a carnivorous fish that’s extremely popular in sports due to its fighting capabilities and also due to how great it tastes.
It’s medium-sized, visually interesting and it also makes for great aquaponics fish, no matter the species (although their size and looks vary from between them).
8 – Sunfish
Size: Small
Edible: No
Freshwater Sunfish are a great fit for aquaponics as not only do they love to live around vegetation but they’re also quite resilient and very interesting looking.
They’re edible although nobody would recommend eating them as their size, taste and bony-ness is not worth the effort.
9 – Crappie
Size: Average
Edible: Yes
A part of the sunfish family, Crappies are highly popular due to being considered one of the best tasting freshwater fishes in the world. Just like the Blue Gill seen previously, they’re part of the “panfish family” due to their size and method of preferred cooking.
Crappies are also quite beautiful and another great fit for aquaponics.
10 – Koi
Size: Large
Edible: No
One of the most popular freshwater fishes in the world, Koi are beloved for their absolutely gorgeous looks which are made of vibrant colors and beautiful patterns. Koi are extremely resilient and hardy to disease and their ambient in general but they’re super durable as well, with the average longevity being 50 years and some going for as much as 100 to 200 years.
As you can tell, they’re some of the best fish for aquaponics you can get, especially if you want to have the aquarium on display. They’re a true joy to own and in Japanese culture they’re a symbol of luck, prosperity and fortune so be sure to give them a go!
11 – Fancy Goldfish (Fantail)
Size: Small
Edible: No
A favorite among many due to their uniquely beautiful large fin and striking colors, the Fantail goldfish are a small and hardy little fish.
Due to their looks, they’re great for visible aquariums and you can either have them with similarly sized playful fish or you can also simply have a ton of them if you wish, to create more fertilizer for your plants.
12 – Pacu
Size: Average
Edible: Yes
The popularly called “vegetarian piranhas”, Pacu are fairly weird fish from the same family as Piranhas that are known due to their square teeth which are bizarrely similar to a human’s. Even though their faces can be a bit off-putting, they do have vibrant coloring (such as bright red bellies). They also have a fairly large size and are surprisingly delicious to eat, offering a mild but characteristically sweet flavor.
Pacu are also resilient, can live for quite a long time (often for more than 20 years), are easily raised all year round and have an excellent tolerance to low-oxygen water, making them some of the very best fish for aquaponics.
13 – Angelfish, Guppies, Tetras, Swordfish, Mollies and Other Ornamental Fishes
Size: Small
Edible: No
These and many other ornamental fishes can be an excellent choice for an aquaponic system, especially if you want to have them on display like an aquarium. Their bright, attractive colors and beautiful characteristics and patterns are sure to make for a gorgeous show plus they live comfortably and are easily taken care of.
Depending on the size of your system, you can have a few or a large amount of them in order to produce enough nutrients for the plants.
14 – Catfish
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
With their unmistakable looks (large barbels that resemble cat’s whiskers) and extremely wide range of size (from 12 cm/4.7 inches all the way up to 2.5 meters/6.6 feet), Catfish are a popular and iconic fish all over the world.
While the smaller species are great for aquariums, the larger ones are fantastic choices for aquaponics and farming due to their size, ease of growth and culinary use. In terms of eating, it’s polarizing as some people praise it for its quality and flavor while others dismiss them as lackluster in taste. They also have a fairly long lifespan of around 20 years (although it depends with every species).
15 – Largemouth Bass
Size: Large
Edible: Yes
Large Mouth Bass is highly popular in sport fishing and can be great choices for aquaponics as well. They’re quite big, live 16 years on average and are very aggressive predators so you’ve got to keep them well-fed and separated from other smaller fish. Apart from that, they can also be eaten, although many people prefer not to either due to the respect they have for them when fishing or simply because they don’t like the taste.
As long as you’ve got enough space and food for them (you can get little pellets), they make for a great choice.
Conclusion
And that’s it – the best fish for aquaponics you can get! Quite a collection isn’t it? You can rest assured that any of these beautiful fishes will be the perfect choice for your system. Just remember to choose the ones that adapt the best to your system’s type, size and to your own personal preference (edible or not, colorful or mundane, etc…).
Thanks as always for reading and be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions – I’ll be here to help!
