Aquaponics?

[AlohaAxolotl808]

Aloha,

Glad to be added

I am fairly new to axies having got my first in 2016 and never bred. I am wanting to build an outdoor aquaponics setup utilizing axolotl. I'd like to use only axies but I'm not sure how realistic this idea is as you would need to have several in one system for the nutrient benefits to be sufficient to upkeep the plants. I plan on growing all plants organically. It is a 1,000-gallon pond I'd be using. I could keep fewer axies and more guppies to prevent overcrowding issues. Not really even sure how many axies would be "too many" for a 1,000-gallon setup. Any input is appreciated.

 

[Murk]

Hi!
I've seen similar questions on this forum before, some answered by people with more aquaponics experience than me. The search function should give you some good answers to start with.

I definitely think it's possible. I've grown basil on the axolotl tank for a while, and that worked fine.
Currently, I'm running a no-maintenance tank where the only maintenance I ever do is trimming the waterweed (about a bucket of waterweed every month, four axolotls, 100 gallon tank). Obviously, the waterweed isn't edible (citation needed), but I'm sure you could do the same with edible plants.

Having said that, I see a few problems:
- To get a decent return for a 1000 gallons, you would need quite a lot of axolotls. That's not a problem in itself, but it will be very difficult to get a one-gender-only tank. If you put males and females together, you will get a lot of breeding. I guess this is useful for the aquaponics, but it also means your set-up will be a blood bath of cannibalism and starvation.
- Temperature. There are edible plants that can grow on cold water, but as far as I know most aquaponics systems want a little warmer water. Aquaponics-warm water isn't good for the axolotls; Axolotl-cold water isn't be good for the efficiency of the aquaponics.
- Feeding. Fish are pretty easy to feed, even in an aquaponics system. Axolotls can be a little trickier, especially if you have a lot in a huge tank. Whether you use pellets or life food, there will always be axolotls that suck at finding the food, which will be outcompeted. Just like the first point, that's not necessarily bad for the aquaponics, but it might be... unethical.
To make sure even the idiots survive, personally feeding axolotls is the best. But I'm doubtful you'll want to handfeed a few dozen axolotls regularly.

So, yeah, it's definitely possible. The time I grew basil on the aquarium I ate more basil in a year than I had my entire life.
I don't think it would be commercially viable, and it would certainly be less efficient than the aquaponics-popular species of fish, but if you care more about it being a fun idea than about sheer efficiency, I think it could be done.