If you are thinking about starting your own business from home, starting an indoor fish farming business could be a great way to get started, which doesn’t require a whole lot of money or resources. Growing your own food has many benefits, and you could integrate an aquaponic system to grow plants with your indoor fish containers and raise fish, vegetable and herbs at the same time.
Judging from the current attitude of the general population, this is the best time to start your own indoor aquaponic farm or indoor fish farming business, because people today want to buy fish and vegetables grown with organic methods. Consumers today want to know exactly how their food was grown and where their food is coming from.
There has been food marketed in the United States that had to be flown and trucked thousands of miles, burning thousands of gallons of fossil fuels. Some of the imported foods sold in the United States were grown in unethical ways in a foreign country, destroying the ecosystem, adding toxic elements and leaving a huge carbon footprint on the environment.
By starting your own indoor farm, you will be able to ensure that your food is grown using all natural organic methods. You will also be able to provide for your family and supply your community with freshly grown products that are local, ethical and tasty. Here’s some advice to get you started.
Dedicate a space in your home for fish farming
When starting an indoor fish farm, you could use an indoor swimming pool or tub to get you started, if you have enough space for those. If you don’t, you could use plastic containers or fish tanks for that. The size of your container will depend on the size of the fish you want to raise and the number of fish you plan on raising and harvesting. The container size will have to be bigger if your fish grow large before harvest time. A variety of fresh water fish can be raised indoors very easily. You should also have means to control your light level and temperature of the water, so choose a place where you have enough space, enough light and availability of heat during winter.
Setting up an indoor fish farm
You can raise a variety of fresh water fish such as tilapia, koi, trout, catfish, and many others, using simple aquaculture methods. Make sure when you choose and buy your juvenile fish, choose a supplier who hatched, nurtured and raised them in a chemical free natural environment. Once you have your baby fish swimming in your fish tank or water containers, you have to make sure that they are growing well and so you need to control and monitor their growing and breeding conditions very closely.
You will need a filtration system and a pump to circulate the water from your pump to your plant trays. The waste from your fish containers can be used as food for your plants and then put back into the fish tanks to minimize waste. It also keeps your water free from toxic elements and aerates the fish water, which will help you maintain the water quality in the fish containers. You will need some testing kits to test the water quality, such as the pH levels and also the chemical balance of the water.
Having an indoor system reduces the possibility of being infected by diseases and it also reduces the chances of pest or insect attacks. There is no possibility of pollution from pesticide run-off and toxic chemicals contaminating water bodies.
Equipment and supplies to get started
You will get everything you need at your local hardware or local pet supply stores. For juvenile fish, consult your local hatcheries for the type of fish best suited for the type of business you want to start. You may visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more information and contact them if you have any questions or for more resources.
For aquaponic systems, there are some companies that specialize in the type of equipment for aquaponics that you may need.
Useful links
Below is a list of links that you might find useful resources at.
Marketing
When selling your fish and making money from them, make sure to highlight your strong points. Let customers know that you have grown and raised your fish and vegetables using all natural methods. Also emphasize these points to your local market when you sell. You will find that once you set up a steady market for your products, you will have no difficulty getting the news around about your business. Use the marketing strategies described on our sites in our earlier blogs, and it might help you to expand your business and generate more money.
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Source: WorldWide Aquaculture
