Aquaponics – A Sustainable Integration of Gardening and Fishing

Gardeners who also enjoy fish ponds can cultivate a garden that includes aquatic life and plants through aquaponic gardening. This layout involves providing an aquatic habitat for fish while growing plants in the water or using a pump to circulate the water between the habitat and surrounding pants. The plants receive nutrients from the fish’s excrement and promote the health of the fish by filtering the water.

Aquaponics systems function by means of two actors: beneficial bacteria and composting red worms. Beneficial bacteria, found on moist surfaces, convert the ammonia in fish excrement into nitrate, a nitrogen-based compound that fertilizes plants. Without these bacteria, the ammonia would contaminant the water and become toxic to the fish. Furthermore, composting red worms play a crucial role in preventing plant waste from polluting the aquatic environment. They convert decaying plant matter into a humus-like material called vermicompost, which help suppress plant diseases and parasitic nematodes.

Nearly all freshwater fish species are suitable for aquaponic gardening. While many aquaponic gardeners populate their aquatic habitat with tilapia, some also include catfish, trout, and bluegill, among others. Aquaponic gardens can also sustain most types of plants, but those such as blueberries that require an acidic environment cannot thrive in them because aquaponic systems maintain a fairly neutral pH.

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