Got 150 lb of good-looking Tilapia stocked at my pond the other day. My grandkids were fascinated and my 5 1/2 year old grandson insisted on touching them.

Anyway, Justin, the stocker from PB, told me something about TP I didn't know: they actually help feed BG, not just LMB. He mentioned a private BOW where they took out some big BG and discovered that their stomachs were full of little TP!

So not only do TP take some of the LMB pressure off BG, they also are on the menu for big BG. Never heard that before so I thought I'd pass it along...

I know of a PB member who has a trophy BG fishery, they stocked TP one summer and it had different results. The TP forced out the BG at the feeders which slowed growth of the BG in the mid range. After the TP died that winter and were not restocked he estimated it would take another 1.5-2 years to get the trophy BG fishery back right.

I can see though if your wanting to grow big bass and have stock TP the larger BG would feed on tilapia fry, it could be a win win. Managing for a trophy BG fishery perhaps may be a different story.

Interesting. I asked Justin about exactly this point and he said that TP prefer FA to feed, so problems occur only when they've finished the FA.

How that will work I don't know. My pond is acidic, not fertile, so while it does have FA they don't dominate. Maybe the TP are a mistake, guess we'll see. Bass not stocked yet...

With no LMB there to eat the fast growing Tilapia, you can expect lots of big Tilapia at the end of the season.

Snakebite, Tilapia can be pellet hogs, but I doubt they harmed the BG growth. BG will just eat the Tilapia. I also can't imagine any scenario where one season of tilapia use could create a situation taking more than 1 year to correct....I also do not suggest stocking Tilapia with only bluegill....TP grow too fast for the BG to eat enough.

In my limited experience, I tend to agree with Snakebites post. The Tilapia are really aggressive at the feeder, and the BG back off. Can't help to believe this leads to less growth by the BG. My overall growth of the BG has been slow in my pond. Also, the BG of all sizes feed early on when there are no tilapia in the springtime, then by fall only bigger BG seem to be around the feeder trying to compete with the big tilapia. The tilapia grow fast and outsize the BG. When handling tilapia versus BG, the tilapia also seem much more robust, stronger, spiny, and larger. This all leads to me having a gut instinct that BG will/do have a harder time with tilapia at a feeder. I don't know how such a belief can really be proven, because there are so many other variables.

Again, in my pond scenario, the tilapia definitely feed on pellets when there is still FA present. Absolutely no doubt about it. And why wouldn't they. They are grown on pellets till released. If you catch them on a pellet or near the feeder, I feel thy quickly learn and dial it back some.

My tilapia will eat pellets but they are real slow to rise up an lightly suck the pellet in

mine too, .......the BG seen to dart up grab and go.

I can't bring myself to stock Tilapia in a trophy BG pond. Just seems counterproductive to my goal.

yea, what would be the point since they have plenty to eat already, unless you have an FA issue you want to deal with

Even with FA I can't wrap my head around stocking tilapia in a trophy BG pond.

I wouldn't have them either, but it's for the FA. I don't want to use chemicals, so it's my management strategy at this time. Everybody has to figure out what's right for them.

The TP do help with the my FA but I use them for the rapid reproduction.

Mine over winter every single year and still have not totally filled the pond. my predators do not reproduce so I am hoping they are getting big. I need to spend a little pond time fishing soon to find out.

Well, in my case it isn't really a trophy BG pond. Stocked 12,000 plus BG in November, most small but some up to 5 inches, so spawning should be happening. I started feeding them 3 - 4 months ago. Right now I have them on 3 feeders with Optimal BG food, six seconds each in morning and evening. Total of 36 seconds a day.

I'm aiming for high numbers of good size BG for my grandkids to catch and my future bass to eat. Would love to catch 1 lb plus BG, but if I end up with a pond full of 7 to 10 inchers I'd be delighted, and so would my grandkids.

As for bass, Bob Lusk recommends I go with F1 Tigers from Alabama so it looks likely I will. Maybe 300 would be stocked within next few weeks. With no spawn this year, likely would grow very fast.

Agreed, if trophy BG are not the goal I have an easier time understanding stocking tilapia.

Does anyone have experience with a pond with CNBG and TP that stays warm enough year round that the large TP don't die off every year? Curious, if the TP are allowed to get much bigger than the CNBG, can the CNBG compete or would they be wiped out? Is it maybe a blessing that the TP die off in most ponds once a year requiring small TP be stocked again?

I look at it differently. I figure on TP babies to feed the young BG.

Good point but...

What if it is big TP eating the BG fry? Are TP strictly vegetarians?

Bill, I think TP are totally vegetarian. At the PB Conference in Dallas, we were told about how to raise prawns with TP. The prawns eat TP waste, while the TP leave the prawns alone. CNBG would decimate the smaller prawns very quickly!

PS I did a bit of research and found that TP have been stocked in Kenya because they eat mosquito larvae, too.

I worry about tilapia babies feeding the bass, who are supposed to be concentrating on BG fry in order to curtail recruitment. Anything that takes pressure off my bluegills is not welcome in my management strategy. By that same token, anything that competes for the same resources my BG need (feed, O2), is suspect as well.

I think out of desperation, they will eat anything (like most).

In my tank scenarios, they will pick on weaker ones and eventually they die off. After they die, the tilapia will peck away at the stomach area to remove its contents, then if left in the tank, they will keep tearing them apart over time, right down to only bones left. Is scavengers considered meat eaters.

I have also seen mid-size(2-3") tilapia attack and kill and eat baby tilapia ( 1/2" to an inch). Again, could be just because of overcrowding scenarios, or their nasty breeding dispositions starting to emerge.

I see them chasing the Shrimp around and have seen them pick off tiny baby RR FHM. They are not very good at catching the shrimp though. But if they find something that is not able to get away they will readily eat meat. I even have seem them tearing apart and eating steak fat I have tossed in for them.

I catch them on a beaded fly and it does not look like vegetation

Tracy

Tracy, that actually sounds pretty cool! Even when my bass are stocked there will be lots of TP, as most of the ones initially stocked were around 1/3 - 1/2 lb. Love to catch 2 lb plus TP on a light flyrod, that's for sure.

Where & how do you catch them?

Frank, PM sent

Tracy