Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Tilapia and FA: How's it going?

In the walk around the pond today, I've noticed that the FA is starting to take off again (as in grow and start to form mats).

This is for the other people that have stocked Tilapia in the ponds for FA control.

How many (pounds) per acre did you stock, are they working, and do you feed your fish?

My feeder has been off for a month or so, trying to make the CC hungry. (that's not working so well) I haven't fertilized since the Spring, so no fertilizer run-off. Within the last 2 weeks I have started up the aerator, and ran the well into the pond for a couple of days in a row.

So, I'm wondering what is causing the spike in algae growth, and how many Tilapia I should stock next year. I figure I'll give the Tilapia one more shot at keeping it clean of FA, and if they don't work next year I'll be spending the $$ on other methods.

It's no fun fishing in the pond if you have to clean off the line/lure after every cast, and swimming isn't too appealing right now either.

Do you think some of the females are holding brood in their mouths?

I see what I assume is Tilapia beds (just a few) in a few places around the pond edge. I hope that they are reproducing, but they are making themselves scarce. I saw 3 the other evening when I tossed in some pellets, and occasionally I'll see that one large one swimming around.

I am seeing a bed here and there, in about 1' of water, usually all by itself. Fresh, but I have yet to see a fish sitting on it.

Most of our FA has dissappeared. I do not know why. Our pond temps are now in the very high 80s. The FA was doing well in the early spring, before tilapia. Niaid has become the problem. Loose pieces in large mats are floating all over the pond. Worst the pond has looked in years. Even the UPS guy mentioned how bad the pond looked. In the past our grass carp has kept niaid under control. We also had a bloom of independent single cell bright green algae. It appears to have come & gone. 3 acre pond, 30 grass carp put in last fall, 100 5" tilapia added the end of June. I have only seen one GC & zero tilapia so far this year. Hope that we will have a better year in '11. GC will have a head start & perhaps a few tilapia will winter over.

How large are the tilapia now & when you stocked?

FA bloom= right temperature, right availability of the needed nutrients for the FA. This should be followed by rapid growth in the tilapia & growth in their numbers.

So have you not been able to catch any of your Tilapia?

I am still ZERO for tilapia.

One 13" er and I released it.

I stocked them as adults. The tilapia ranged from 12"+ to 6".

This years batch of Tilapia are thriving. I reduced the amount this year to 15 lbs per acre and seem to have more spawns and bigger fish for August. Largest ones put it where 6 inches with most being smaller. Already catching some over 2 lbs. Have had good luck catching them on pieces of night crawlers fished about 6 inches below the service. Of course a cast net works best in November.

As in previous years they are doing their job on the FA. Pond looks good and I am also seeing nests with fish on them.

[quote=esshup]I see what I assume is Tilapia beds (just a few) in a few places around the pond edge. I hope that they are reproducing, but they are making themselves scarce. I saw 3 the other evening when I tossed in some pellets, and occasionally I'll see that one large one swimming around.

I am seeing a bed here and there, in about 1' of water, usually all by itself. Fresh, but I have yet to see a fish sitting on it. [/quote

esshup, Take a small piece of netting, put some pellets in it, tie it up and put it in a minnow trap. Make sure you put your trap next to some shore structure. Leave it over night. I'm catching tilapia fry like this but they look BG fry. They (tilapia fry) have verticle stripes and if you look at them in a white bucket, they keep their tail cocked to the side so they look like the letter "j". These little dudes are FAST!

The pond had been steadly been getting worse as far as the weeds were concerned. The FA for the most part had disappeared but then the problem became niaid with about 60-75% of the pond covered with it. As the FA quickly & mysteriously disappeared so now it appears the same is happening to the niaid in the pond. Two weeks ago I thought I detected a decrease but could not really tell. Now if seems as if the pond has only a 50% covering with a large area cleared near my house. Perhaps the carp & tipapia are now doing their thing.

I am going to try the minnow trap thing. I see activity on the surface in the morning, something small but the fish move so quick I can not figure out what they are.