The fish test results indicate that you can "recycle" a limited number of culled fish back into your pond in the form of BSFL. It's been 24 hours since I added the 4 oz fish to the BSF bin, and the fish is 90% gone with larvae still working on it. The odor from the fish has varied from not noticeable to barely noticeable. At no point could I smell the fish from 6 feet away with the lid on. My judgment of the odor is supported by the fact that in frequent trips to the bin I only observed 2 house flies, and they were on the outside of the bin. It wouldn't be uncommon to see 2 flies almost anywhere over that time period.
I should mention that I slit the belly of the fish before adding it. You can't see it in the first photo because it was not open. As the BSF found it and entered the fish it became obvious. In the future I'll try it without a helper slit.
It's probable that my colony could have consumed 2 or more similar fish with the same efficiency because the largest number of larvae involved in eating the fish at any one time was only a small fraction of the total population. One variable might be what other food has been added to the bin. I fed the colony the usual amount the day before the test, but nothing except the fish for the test.
My bin is about 1/2 the surface area of the ESR bin, so the quantities their unit could handle should be about double. Also, I'm only feeding the BSF minimal amounts of scraps (8oz/day average) so it's possible I could have a larger, more robust colony if I fed them more. There has been consistent replenishment of eggs by wild adult BSF, but their presence is much less than in the past. One theory is that by adding more scraps I would initially create more odor and therefore attract more BSF females. My guess is that given a fairly consistent food supply, the BSF numbers will adjust naturally.
On a side note, I observed what looked like a parasitic worm on the fish after most of the flesh had been eaten. It was alive and it's visible in the 7:00 photo. This seems to indicate another benefit of recycling culls; you can monitor at least some parasites this way. To test for parasites you could transfer some larvae from the bin to a closed container with a fish. The larvae won't harm a living animal so any parasites should become visible as the fish is eaten.
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Day 2 - 7:30 am
Was it really necessary to post those pictures? Call 1-800-BSFLOVE and place your vote!
