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I have been considering adding Tilapia to my pond to control FA. I had a pretty good amount of it in the spring and it is showing up again as the water cools. I want to avoid chemicals, and would like the pond to be as FA free as possible.

So, my questions are:

Will adding Tilapia to my pond affect the outcome of growing big bluegill?

Will the bass focus on the Tilapia too much thereby affecting the bluegill predation?

Will Tilapia do a good job of cleaning up the FA?

OK, I know you'll ask so here are some specifics.

Goals: Big Bluegill and fun fishing for bass.

Fish stocked: FH, GSH, BG, RES, HBG, LMB and HSB.

Pond Size: 2 acres

Location: Northern Indiana (Will need to stock Tilapia every year)

OK. That should do it. What do you all think?


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Tilapia stocking has been reported here to be a good thing for BG size and condition. I'm not sure we ever got an in-depth, scientific explanation as to why. Some possible mechanisms I can remember being considered were:

1) BG eating tilapia fry (& eggs?)
2) Tilapia predation on BG fry and eggs, reducing BG numbers and resulting in more food/BG
3) Increase in Bass forage from Tilapia resulting in higher Bass biomass in pond, which increases predation on BG during the off-season and lowers BG numbers (re #2).

Previous results were all from Texas, IIRC, and certainly all from down South, so YMMV in Hoosierland.


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This is the first year for the pond in it's larger form. Also the first year that I've stocked Rainman's Blues. I want to take some BG fillets to my cousin in WY in 2 weeks, so I started to get some for him yesterday evening. The 11 BG that I kept weighed slightly more than 8#, all between 7"-9". Read into that what you will.

I stocked 125 Tilapia in the 1 3/4 ac (now down to 1 ac) pond. I did use chemicals once to knock back the algae, but nothing like the 3x-4x that I used to use them. Next year I'd like to try 300 of them. I've only seen 2 Tilapia the whole time after planting them. I am seeing about the same number of YOY BG as in the previous years.


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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FCM,

There are many possible reasons for adding Tilapia and the fact that they DON'T live year round in temperate water is what makes them so special. If they didn't die annually, they would no doubt devestate a pond with stunted fish. The following may not hold in every case or pond situation and is all "generally speaking". The only potential problem I can find with tilapia is the potential to cause turbidity if overstocked.


I have read hundreds of studies on the tilapia and especially the ones that state they are a potential invasive in temperate waters. The invasive fear claims are simply not based on fact in temprate waters but rather they base these clams on tropical water conditions that could some how magically occur.

Tilapia species in the USA that are stocked into ponds are all mouth brooders and will produce huge numbers of offspring every 3-6 weeks. These fry grow very fast, but the YOY of other fish will eliminate almost all of them before they grow much over an inch. Most of those few survivors will get eaten when they grow to an optimum size for larger predators, but several still make it to maturity and will reproduce a second or even a third generation in a pond in a single season.

When water temps start to cool, the tilapia become slow swimmers and any that are small enough to be eaten by another fish in the pond will become forage. All carnivores and omnivores in your pond will gorge on the dying tilapia. After all tilapia have died, you will only see the original stockers, if any are not eaten by turtles.

Although tilapia are omnivores, just like other fish, they waste as little energy as possible feeding. They will eat the eggs of an abandoned nest, but they won't fight off a fish protecting the nest unless easy food is unavailable. Tilapia can extract nutrition from almost anything due to a very low stomach PH so they will eat plants like algae, duckweed and others that no other fish is competing with them for. Tilapia also eat detritus, not because they eat dead leaves and other decaying organics, they are going after the bacteria on the detritus and consume the dead organics incidentally.

Tilapia do filter feed in a way also but are NOT filter feeders. A tilapia's gill rakers produse a sticky mucus that catches tiny particles of algae and microscopice animals. They will essentially hock up a loogey when enough nutients have been caught and swallow it. Tilapia do not filter feed enough to effect the growth of any other fish that rely on filter feeding to survive.

I have raised bluegill fry and mature tilapia in the same aquariums and unless a fry swims into an easy range for the tilapia OR if I don't feed enough, the bluegill will be safe.

The bottom line is, if properly stocked in the right numbers, the tilapia will actually INCREASE your ponds total carrying capacity and increase the health and numbers of every fish in the pond. By heavily reducing the oxygen depleting, toxic gas producing detritus along with carbon dioxide producing algaes and other over-abundant plants, and vigorous swimming mixing the water, tilapia produce results similar to adding an undersized aeration system.

By adding the proper numbers in a pond with sufficiant vegetation, tilapia will produce growth rates in other predators similar to using supplemental feeding. In a Bass-heavy pond, bass will have better growth with adding tilapia than with using pellets to feed the forage species.

Tilapia will eat the most abundant foods not competed for first and move on down the line to the next most abundant. Eventually competition will occur but it is usually only minor in nature. In a pond overgrown by plants, tilapia can eliminate the need for chemicals entirely.

The only article I have found that shows a fish potentially negatively impacted by adding tilapia is the Channel Catfish. Here is an ecerpt with a link to the full article below.

Tilapia can be cultured with channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with only a minor reduction in catfish yields. Male tilapia stocked at a rate of 800/acre yield nearly 770 pounds/acre when channel catfish are stocked at 3,000/acre. At this stocking rate, net production of catfish declines by roughly
SRAC-280-3
170 pounds/ acre, but for every reduction of 1 pound in catfish
production, 4.5 pounds of tilapia are produced. Catfish production does not decline when cultured in combination with tilapia, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) at densities of 800; 1,000; and 20/acre, respectively. With no additional feed, total net production can reach nearly 4,120 pounds/acre compared to 2,370 pounds/acre for catfish cultured alone. The incidence of off flavor catfish may be less in catfish/tilapia polyculture than catfish monoculture.

OSU pdf

Last edited by Rainman; 09/15/09 12:32 AM.


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 Originally Posted By: Rainman
Tilapia do filter feed in a way also but are NOT filter feeders. A tilapia's gill rakers produse a sticky mucus that catches tiny particles of algae and microscopice animals. They will essentially hock up a loogey when enough nutients have been caught and swallow it.

I've been wondering what the technical terms for that process were, Thanks, Rainman. ;\)


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Y'all ask Todd about his new "Tilapia Castle"!
AMAZING facility .....



N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds
Original george #173 (22 June 2002)




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Rainman,

Thanks for that detailed explanation. So, if my main goal of adding Tilapia was for FA control and not bass forage, how many would you suggest adding to my 2 acre pond?

Sounds like I will be calling you next spring!

Mike


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Normal is 40 pounds per acre for moderate to heavy FA. More or less can be used depending on the amount of control desired. we all have our version of "heavy" FA, so without seing the pond or knowing more info on your pond, that's a fair SWAG. That's also a good forage rate too.



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Great. Thanks.


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 Originally Posted By: Theo Gallus
 Originally Posted By: Rainman
Tilapia do filter feed in a way also but are NOT filter feeders. A tilapia's gill rakers produse a sticky mucus that catches tiny particles of algae and microscopice animals. They will essentially hock up a loogey when enough nutients have been caught and swallow it.

I've been wondering what the technical terms for that process were, Thanks, Rainman. ;\)


Theo, I mis-spell the term so often, I forgot what it is and being crude works in this case!



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 Originally Posted By: Rainman
Normal is 40 pounds per acre for moderate to heavy FA. More or less can be used depending on the amount of control desired.
Wow - 40 pounds per acre ...?
10 pounds per acre handles heavy FA more than enough for me!

Is a northern pond tilapia stocking rate that much different from a southern pond?



N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds
Original george #173 (22 June 2002)




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George, I suspect our definitions of "heavy" FA may differ. \:\) Some pond managment companies suggest up to 100 pounds per acre (not me!). Annual stocking of tilapia SHOULD gradually require fewer stocking numbers once control is gained over the plant life and a good balance is found.

Northern ponds do have a shorter season for tilapia recruitment by 2-3 months from roughly the Arkansas/Mississippi border on north. Always some exceptions though.

Last edited by Rainman; 09/15/09 09:51 PM.


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Rainman, I believe I have as much experience with using Tilapia for FA control and forage production in this part of the country as anyone I know with the exception of Meadowlark, a previous poster that I credit with popularizing the use of tilapia for FA control and forage production for LMB.

I am not sure that our definition of “heavy” FA differs, having several years experience with extreme infestations and dramatic results within very short periods.

It is obvious that it must be a northern/southern thing as far as stocking rates, however 40 pounds/acres appears excessive to me, whether north or south.

I rely totally upon Todd Overton’s recommendations for Tilapia stocking rates and would invite his participation in this discussion, but it would not be timely with current travel and preparations for the up-coming conference.
I believe he will address this subject at the conference.

I will await your discussion with Todd regarding this subject of stocking rates.
Todd is likely the largest grower and producer of tilapia in this part of this country.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=183747#Post183747

Last edited by george1; 09/16/09 08:52 AM. Reason: Link


N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds
Original george #173 (22 June 2002)




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George, I love reading Meadowlarks Tilapia reports! Where has he been lately? I havn't seen him post in ages.

I hope to find time to discuss tilapia in depth with Todd this weekend. We've only spoken briefly on the phone as of yet.

From my readings of Todd's posts he usually has 10 pounds at the low end per acre for stocking.




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