Those look just like the tilapia I put in my pond. I went to Alabama and brought them home in a cooler. But, the guy I bought them from did not know the name of them. Mine are all white. He said he thought they were Rockymountain White but, he was not sure. They have been in my pond since June and so far I have not seen any yoy the smallest ones in the pond are bigger than your hand. Should I be seeing some small ones say like 2-3 in.? I have also not seen any of them on the bed. It does seem like I have more than the 35 I put in. But, no small ones. I am wondering if the bass are keeping them down. I have a 1acre pond with 75 1-2lb HSB. And I put in 75 largemouth the same time as the tilapia. Any comments welcome.
John, I can only speculate as to a "pond" situation.
Tilapia don't really have a stomach but more of a "bulb". They eat and digest constantly and have a food conversion ratio of around 1.4 to 1, meaning they grow a pound for every 1.4 pounds eaten---Some studies put it closer to 1.1 to 1. Anyhoo, this conversion means that in the unlimited food supply envoirnment of a pond versus feeding, Tilapia fry, upon emerging permanantly from the mothers protective mouth, can and will grow rapidly, several inches in the first couple months. The young are prey for virtually everything in the pond including the tilapia.
When I spend the time and effort to feed my aquarium fish 10-15 times a day, I can get almost an inch of growth a week till the fish reach around 6 inches then it slows dramatically. I don't know if it shows in the video, but some 3 month old fish in the tank are almost as big 1 year old fish, but the younger fish have MUCH smaller mouths.
As forthe coloring, The male Blue loses virtually all normal color but gets dark stripes on the outer edges of the fins while trying to mate---in this guys case that is nearly constant. The Reds are also called Rock Mountain Whites and are derived from a cross between nile and blue tilapia for rapid growth and whiter meat for the food industry. They have pigment but almost appear albino in nature.
