FISH WASTE????

Not sure where to post this but feeding plants sort of sounded like garden talk. Here's the question. We vacuumed the water garden today and getting it ready for warm weather. The fish overwinter there and even though we don't feed them during the winter, we vacuumed over 3 5-gallon buckets of fish waste. I usually add this to my compost but my question is...Could I save some back, dilute, and spray on plants as a foliar feeding? Second question...is fish waste the same as fish emulsion? If not what is fish emulsion?? Thanks!

Vic - I pretty sure fish emulsion is basicly - a fish guts smoothie ;-) Don't mean to gross anyone out - LOL. The fish waste from the bottom of your pond would be good to water plants with. I'm not sure how it would benifit as a foliar spray ... I'm sure it wouldn't hurt tho. I used to have a 55 gallon fish tank and after cleaning I'd used the dirty water to water my house plants. They loved it - and it's not as smelly as fish emulsion.

Whenever I have anything from my water garden, whether it's nasty fish waste or algae or yucky slime from same, I pour or put it on or around the plants in the yard and in
my vegetable garden. The plants positively LOVE it.I also add any deceased fish and snails too, although I've only had one dearly departed goldfish in the last two years and an over-population of trapdoor snails.

I don't know about the technical part of your inquiry but pond waste seems to help my plants,as stinky as the stuff smells.

I just hope that when I die I don't come back as a plant and get adopted by someone like me. The humiliation of it all!

Thank you both. Actually, this stuff doesn't have an odor. I think a lot of it is decay too. The pond is 5 and 1/2 feet deep and even though we put a net over it as leaves start falling in autumn, a lot still get through, especially pine needles. Poppysue, I had found out after posting this that fish emulsion is basically fish parts. Didn't know that. Looks like the plants will get a good boost of something here - LOL - Thanks again to you both for the info...

Yep, I do the same thing! I have a 55gal freshwater tank and I do weekly water changes, and I always pour the water in my flower beds even in the winter time. I have been doing this for about 4 months now and so I am sure to see the difference it has made later this summer. I use it full stregnth too, I think it would be about the same though eatiher way. Glad to know I am not the only one trying to recycle hee hee

The water from any freshwater fish tank contains nitrates. Nitrates are the last step in the chemical breakdown of fish waste and ammonia. They don't hurt freshwater fish except in very concentrated quantities. The only way to remove them is manually. That's why it's good to do small frequent water changes. Fish may not like them, but the plants do!!!