Black Soldier Flies

[nclackso]

Hi All,
I am new to aquaponics, and am very keen to get into it. I currently manage a very large NFT hydroponics farm and am interested in converting my waste into fish food. I currently produce in excess of 5 tonnes of scrap (leaf, roots and peat moss) every week. This is collected and composted in large piles.
I am thinking of using black soldier flies to speed up the process and hopefully produce some fish food. However, i do not know much about BSF.
Where can i get some from?
How do i harvest them? i have heard that they self harvest, but this seems to be tricky.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Nclackso

[Jonty]

nclackso,

Download the free magazine, no 3 in the Pratical Aquaponics from this site. It has an interesting article on BSF.

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

Hi All,
I am new to aquaponics, and am very keen to get into it. I currently manage a very large NFT hydroponics farm and am interested in converting my waste into fish food. I currently produce in excess of 5 tonnes of scrap (leaf, roots and peat moss) every week. This is collected and composted in large piles.
I am thinking of using black soldier flies to speed up the process and hopefully produce some fish food. However, i do not know much about BSF.
Where can i get some from?
How do i harvest them? i have heard that they self harvest, but this seems to be tricky.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Nclackso
Id go with a commercial version of the biopod - they self harvest as part of the design. They are tidy and work well. I use the domestic version and it puts out half a cup of grubs each day and it is winter so will seed up come summer.

Worth the investment for trouble free operation in my opinion. However even the large version will only consume 9.5kg per day http://www.thebiopod.com/pages/pages/protapod.html

There is a contact for these in Brisbane. I purchased mine off him and he was god to deal with. PM me if you are interested and I can dig up his contact details if you want them.

[billsymo]

For anyone who is interested. I have read somewhere that people have trouble breeding and harvesting Blowlfy Larvae. Blowfly larvae (maggots, Gents) , or whatever you like to call them are not hard to breed, THEY DO SELF HARVEST, the same as Black Soldierfly Larvae, however there is a trick to it. If there is enough interest, I may post it here, and my method does not produce a large amout of smell. I breed Gents for two reasons, one (1) they are excellent Garfish and Tommy Ruff Bait, and (2) they are excellent and cheap feed for large goldfish.
I breed large goldfish. My set-up is similar to an aquaponics set up however I do not use the Growbeds, as such, to grow vegetables. My growbeds are used primarily as filters and a buffer for my two and a half thousand Litre tanks. I am currently considering installing growbeds for growing vegetables, however, I spend a lot of time travelling and looking after a garden would probably take up too much of my time. I currently have four silver perch in a seperate tank, as a test, but I find that there growth rate is very slow. Although I was told that they would take feed pellets, they don't, but they do love maggots and garden worms.

[GaryD]

Hi,

I've had several attempts at growing blowfly larvae but they were generally unsatisfying to say the least......so I'd be interested in what you have to say about doing it.

Silver perch will definitely eat pellets but I imagine that if yours have got used to maggots and worms they are probably exercising a preference.

GaryD

[Hamish]

From here:

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/wildlife/caring_for_wildlife/carers_kit/caring_for_wildlife/breeding_live_foods/?format=print

Maggots

One of the easiest ways to breed maggots is to pierce 5mm holes in the lid of a tin of pet food and put it outside. After at least five days, remove the lid, tip it into a bucket of water and strain it through fly wire to get the maggots. Rinse the maggots in running water for 15 minutes to release the contents of their intestine. This will prevent bacteria being passed on to your animal. You can store maggots in a jar of flour in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

[billsymo]

From here:

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/wildlife/caring_for_wildlife/carers_kit/caring_for_wildlife/breeding_live_foods/?format=print

Maggots

One of the easiest ways to breed maggots is to pierce 5mm holes in the lid of a tin of pet food and put it outside. After at least five days, remove the lid, tip it into a bucket of water and strain it through fly wire to get the maggots. Rinse the maggots in running water for 15 minutes to release the contents of their intestine. This will prevent bacteria being passed on to your animal. You can store maggots in a jar of flour in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
When blowfly maggots migrate to pupate, they will purge all digested food before pupating. This is the same as what happens when Soldier fly larvae pupate. At this stage blowfly maggots carry no harmful bacteria and any that are present are probably more beneficial than harmful.

[billsymo]

Hi,

I've had several attempts at growing blowfly larvae but they were generally unsatisfying to say the least......so I'd be interested in what you have to say about doing it.

Silver perch will definitely eat pellets but I imagine that if yours have got used to maggots and worms they are probably exercising a preference.

GaryD Hi Gary, I am presently putting together a post on breeding blowfly maggots which I will post in the forums under fish feed, hopefully within the next few days.

[billsymo]

nclackso,

Download the free magazine, no 3 in the Pratical Aquaponics from this site. It has an interesting article on BSF.

Regards
JontyHi Jonty, unfortunately where I live (SA) , BSF only breedv in summer, I get plenty out of my compost bin then. Blowflies breed all year round although in winter they are very slow, given the right conditions they seem to turn up anytime. Bill
.

[Hamish]

I am always keen on new sources of free food for the fish so I am keen to know how you go about breeding them.

I did hear of someone hanging road kill over the tank in a plastic garbage bag with a hole in it. The larvae dropped into the tank. Nasty :eek:

[billsymo]

Hi Gary, I am presently putting together a post on breeding blowfly maggots which I will post in the forums under fish feed, hopefully within the next few days.Here is the eqipment you will need to breed maggots successfully pictures attached
1 container (I use a 300 mm as used in hydro systems.)
1 300 mm Plastic Sieve which sits at the top of Container above (available at Mitre 10 and probably at Bunnnings)
1 Lid drilled with several half inch holes drilled in a circle ( I use a saucer as used with 300 mm Pot.
Alfoil plates approx 150-200mm
Chicken Liver or Lambs Fry, No Bones or Marrow.
Bran from pet store.

Place the sieve in the top of the plastic container, Place the Alfoil palte on the sieve, make sure the alfoil plate does not touch the sides of the sieve, there must be room for the maggots to crawl out of this plate and fall through the sieve to the bottom of the container. place the Liver or lambs fry into the alfoil plate.

In winter leave the lid off for one or two days until You see blowly activity, then put the lid on. In warmer weather from spring on put the lid on immediately. A word of warning put the container somewhere where cats, foxes magpies and dogs can not get to it.

The next bit is very important, and must be followed to the T to get the maggots to migrate.

After you are sure that the flies have struck, and is can be seen easily by layers of white eggs or even live small larvae, place just enough bran over the liver to slightly over fill the plate with bran letting a sprinkling of bran to fall through to the bottom of the container.

Do not cover the liver or lambs fry until you are sure that the flies have struck.

I use several of these container setups to keep a constant supply going.

In winter maggots progress very slowly, and it could take up to a week or more before youn see any action.

If you lift the sieve you will see when the maggots migrate. This will be noticeable by tracks in the sprinkling og Bran in the bottom og the container.

Maggots only migrate at night, although in warmer weather they seem to migrate all the time because there are more of them.

Every morning lift the sieve containing the plate out of the container, tip the contents into a suitable hand sieve and sift off the bran. Your fish will devour any bran that you give them and a small amount is not harmful. Too much and your fish may became ill, and your water quqlity may deteriorate.

When no more maggots come from the meat, and believe me a small liver produces thousands of maggots, bury the meat in your compost or better still if you have a passionfruit vine bury it alongside it and stand back.

[billsymo]

Here is the eqipment you will need to breed maggots successfully pictures attached
1 container (I use a 300 mm as used in hydro systems.)
1 300 mm Plastic Sieve which sits at the top of Container above (available at Mitre 10 and probably at Bunnnings)
1 Lid drilled with several half inch holes drilled in a circle ( I use a saucer as used with 300 mm Pot.
Alfoil plates approx 150-200mm
Chicken Liver or Lambs Fry, No Bones or Marrow.
Bran from pet store.

Place the sieve in the top of the plastic container, Place the Alfoil palte on the sieve, make sure the alfoil plate does not touch the sides of the sieve, there must be room for the maggots to crawl out of this plate and fall through the sieve to the bottom of the container. place the Liver or lambs fry into the alfoil plate.

In winter leave the lid off for one or two days until You see blowly activity, then put the lid on. In warmer weather from spring on put the lid on immediately. A word of warning put the container somewhere where cats, foxes magpies and dogs can not get to it.

The next bit is very important, and must be followed to the T to get the maggots to migrate.

After you are sure that the flies have struck, and is can be seen easily by layers of white eggs or even live small larvae, place just enough bran over the liver to slightly over fill the plate with bran letting a sprinkling of bran to fall through to the bottom of the container.

Do not cover the liver or lambs fry until you are sure that the flies have struck.

I use several of these container setups to keep a constant supply going.

In winter maggots progress very slowly, and it could take up to a week or more before youn see any action.

If you lift the sieve you will see when the maggots migrate. This will be noticeable by tracks in the sprinkling og Bran in the bottom og the container.

Maggots only migrate at night, although in warmer weather they seem to migrate all the time because there are more of them.

Every morning lift the sieve containing the plate out of the container, tip the contents into a suitable hand sieve and sift off the bran. Your fish will devour any bran that you give them and a small amount is not harmful. Too much and your fish may became ill, and your water quqlity may deteriorate.

When no more maggots come from the meat, and believe me a small liver produces thousands of maggots, bury the meat in your compost or better still if you have a passionfruit vine bury it alongside it and stand back.
This is how you set up shoul lok after the flies have struckan you hav addet the bran.

[billsymo]

This is how you set up shoul lok after the flies have struckan you hav addet the bran. and with the lid on

[Jonathan Dyer]

Bill you are a true legend good stuff I appreciate you ingenuity. I will be putting something together like this soon and in fact I have all the things I need even the livers.

I have never seen BSF where I live but still on the look out and would only see them during summer but maggots are something I can never get rid of. I once cooked a bacon burger for lunch some years back; put some leftover bacon pieces into the oven to keep the flies at bay 20min later I went to make myself another burger and alas the bacon was covered with maggots in under 20mins. So come summer food has about 1min after cooking to get into the fridge to stay maggot free.

I am comming up for the Koi breeding season so some live food will give them a nice boost. I have a 8w light hanging over my tank to attract moths and the like but currently there isn’t much around until perhaps a months time so in the mean time maggots will fill the gap nicely.

How long do you use you liver/brains for?

[billsymo]

Bill you are a true legend good stuff I appreciate you ingenuity. I will be putting something together like this soon and in fact I have all the things I need even the livers.

I have never seen BSF where I live but still on the look out and would only see them during summer but maggots are something I can never get rid of. I once cooked a bacon burger for lunch some years back; put some leftover bacon pieces into the oven to keep the flies at bay 20min later I went to make myself another burger and alas the bacon was covered with maggots in under 20mins. So come summer food has about 1min after cooking to get into the fridge to stay maggot free.

I am comming up for the Koi breeding season so some live food will give them a nice boost. I have a 8w light hanging over my tank to attract moths and the like but currently there isn’t much around until perhaps a months time so in the mean time maggots will fill the gap nicely.

How long do you use you liver/brains for?
justleave the liver there until the maggots stop falling into the container, then discard it into the compost or garden, it varies but on one liver I usually feed 40n large goldfish (8to 11 inches long) for approximately 1nd a half weeks but it varies on how well the flies have struck.ps lambs fry sell her for about $2.20, cheap feed.

[Jonathan Dyer]

Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity what type of goldfish do you have?

[Hamish]

Every morning lift the sieve containing the plate out of the container, tip the contents into a suitable hand sieve and sift off the bran. Your fish will devour any bran that you give them and a small amount is not harmful. Too much and your fish may became ill, and your water quqlity may deteriorate.
What is the purpose of this step?

I imagine the smell from a liver must get pretty bad?

[billsymo]

Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity what type of goldfish do you have?Just about every mongrel breed is but mainly fantails and Coloured comets, a few shebunkins. I breed them to a size then sell them. I keep 40 of the best for breeding. Large goldfish fetch a good price now that Koi have been completely banned here.

[billsymo]

What is the purpose of this step?

I imagine the smell from a liver must get pretty bad?
There i practically no smell once the bran is placed over the offal.

[Hamish]

Cool - I will give it a go once I move to the country - I am sure I would get kicked out of my rented unit if my landlord stumbled on a magot farm :( The more free food I can grow the better :)

[Jonathan Dyer]

Goldfish are good, I have perhaps 20 shebunkins in with my koi and a few mirror scales (I like the mirror scales a nice fish and worth a lot on money). In my tank I have a few small koi around 5cm long that are showing massive potential just have to wait until they reach maturity as they are hard to tell what will happen and still developing colors, hopefully they are good then I need to win a koi show and will be worth around $4,000-5,000 each if that be the case so fingers crossed.

[Jonathan Dyer]

G'Day Bill, I have set up a system today my sive was too big for my pots so i had to buy a pot that would fit. There will be no doubt that there will be maggots in it tommorow how long should they be before i put on the bran?

With Thanks

John

[GaryD]

Bill,

Thanks for your excellent description on how to produce blowfly larvae....it's the best I've ever seen.....and I can see how, with your system, it's possible to avoid getting too 'hands on' with the product. This has been a problem with most of the other methods that I've read about.

While I'm still a huge fan of Black Soldier Flies, it would be good to have plentiful supplies of both BSF and blowfly larvae.

I'll be investing in some pots and sieves this weekend.

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi,

We've recently encountered BSF larvae in our BioPod......the first for this season.

We don't bother feeding them to our fish anymore but the chickens go berserk over them.

Gary