Call me crazy / or stupid, but that's why I'm posting here.

Pond located near Paris Texas. I need Tilapia for forage fish and algae control so here goes. I have had trouble getting them, or at best is a long drive to get them from supplier and then get them to my pond but certainly CAN get them

I was strolling the local Chinese grocery store here in Dallas and went through the seafood department and Holy crud - there were live - large - tilapia - for about $4.75/lb - about half of what I find them for from fish supplier and more importantly - right in my back yard!!!!!

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THESE WOULD WORK FOR PURPOSES OF GETTTING TILAPIA IN MY POND or is there something about the live ones in the grocery store (such as being sterile) that they won't do the biz???

IMHO My first worry would be survival rate. Those fish in the grocery have been banged around and stressed pretty good.

Agree with Bill but figure it would be worth a try.

Heck, I usually agree with Bill.

Rainman the tilapia expert should chime in soon. I suggested someone to do the same thing to get a few tilapia for a small lily pond. NOTE; the tilapia in the fish market will usually be all males since males grow faster than females thus tilapia for the food market are primarily males. Tilapia survival from the food market will be iffy at best since they have been handled poorly.

I would give it a try too! Not trying to discourage you man. I would say, "give me 6 of yer littlest fellers" and give it a try!

Dave,

I usually agree with you too Buddy. Us old guys gotta stick together!

I am curious though as to how you get them out of the market alive. Everytime I have bought live fish at a market they fish them out of the tank and pack them in a bag full of ice.

As Bill said, they are probably all males. Reason being is that females would want to be breeding and holding eggs and thus not eating, so they don't grow as fast as the males.

The smaller fish are what seems to be ravenous for FA. They are eating machines. If they are all males, makes it kind of a plus and minus. They will always eat(compared to females), but you will not get any hatches which is what really munches on the FA.

I think the food market likes Red Tilapia, which makes them less cold tolerant, thus a shorter FA eating season.

First, you are in Texas, so the ONLY species of Tilapia you can stock in open water is Mozambique. Also, to remain legal, you need to retain a receipt stating the species and weight or number of fish stocked. If the market says they are just "Tilapia", walk away.

As several people have said, the "Food Fish" are almost certainly all male, so there will be NO forage production. Also, extremely little algae consumed since without babies, the stockers can't eat all that much. Chances are also very high that if they are a light color, they are Nile Tilapia, so even if they were mixed sex, Niles reproduce at a lower rate than Mozambique. The food fish industry and pond fish industry are nothing alike really in what is raised. Fish raised for ponds are far more labor intensive, so therefore more expensive. Pond Tilapia are also fed a lot more than food fish because the babies and females are kept healthy.

As for being stressed or banged up...the biggest reason Nilotica Tilapia are sold in stores, live, is that the light color hides missing scales. Blue and Mozambique are normally quite dark and missing scales stand out big time on live fish. Tilapia are tough as nails or shoe leather, so I doubt stress would be a big concern.

Tilapia are considered an exotic species by the State of Texas, so you must have a received your fish from with an exotic species permit.

In Texas, only people SELLING Mozambique Tilapia are required to have an Exotic Species Permit. Unless you sell the fish, Mozambique Tilapia do not require any permit to own or stock in open Texas private waters, yet there is now a law ruling by TPWD that ONLY an authorized fish hauler can transport the fish. Individual pond owners can no longer go to a fish farm, buy their Mozambiques and take them home....the farms or supplier must deliver them. (If you have a fish hauler permit in TX, I guess you're good to haul your own)

An excerpt from a TPWD clarification....

TPWD Quote "Just to re-cap, all species of tilapia are prohibited in Texas. However, there are three species that may be aquacultured with an Exotic Species Permit from Texas Parks and Wildlife and those are the Blue, Nile, and Mozambique tilapia. The ONLY tilapia species you can have on your property for personal use (i.e. not for sale to the public) without an Exotic Species Permit is Mozambique tilapia. In order to be in possession of Mozambique tilapia without a permit you must maintain a copy of your exotic species transport invoice with a valid permit number from the group you purchased the fish from." end quote.

We have ALWAYS hauled our own tilapia from Overton's without any concerns - as well as others who do not choose to have them delivered.
Todd is on top of all permitting regs....
G/

George if they throw you in handcuffs I will come bail you out!

Yes, Todd is, George...here is his post from earlier last year...

Hello and Greetings to everyone from Overton Fisheries!!

This message serves to inform you of some very important TPWD regulations on Mozambique Tilapia, and to provide you with a phone # and email link where you can voice your comments and concerns about this issue.

The TPWD recently clarified an existing regulation for the industry. They made it clear that Mozambique Tilapia are indeed legal to stock in Texas private waters without a permit, HOWEVER, YOU MAY NOT TRANSPORT YOUR OWN MOZAMBIQUE TILAPIA. In essence, you may have these fish delivered by one of our hauling trucks or via a 3rd party transport company ONLY. We feel this regulation is ridiculous. We have built a solid business over the last decade by supplying tilapia via farm pick-up, and the issue is up for public comment before the TPWD makes a ruling on it in August.

So if you are a fan of tilapia and have enjoyed the convenience of picking these fish up at our farm and stocking them yourself, then we need your help the most. Please call or email your comment to Ken Kurzawski at 512-389-4591 or ken.kurzawski@tpwd.texas.gov



Edited by overtonfisheries (Wed Jun 05 2013 04:04 PM)


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=338089
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EDIT: I don't know what the final outcome of the regulation was after the August date mentioned....I do know every piece of info I can find on the TPWD site and other Texas forums indicate an exotic transport permit is required to transport along with an exotic species receipt and the exotic species permit number of the supplier is required to possess.

Yes, I am very aware of this and there has been no follow-up from "the powers that be" IIRC, and we continue to pick up our tilapia as needed. All that is needed IMO is a reciept of purchase to be on the safe side.
I don't know of anyone ever been checked in more than 12 years of hauling our own tilapia.
G/

Rainman, i thought the most cold tolerant Tilapia was Blue Tilapia. Isn't it?

And how would you guys compare the breeding speed and growth rate of these two species?

I'd pity the poor TPWD officer that tried!!!

Yes, Fatih, Pure strains of Blue Tilapia are the most cold tolerant. Any hybridization of the Blue raises it's lethal temperature at least 8 degrees F, near that of when Nile or Mozambique die.

Mark, between you, Brian and Al, I would be "untouchable!.

George,

I have heard of people getting tickets at Boatcycle in Henderson when they go to leave with tilapia.

Chris, I hate to hear of this... ....do you have documentation?

As you know, Boatcycle was a pioneer in Texas tilapia and is a major producer - last I heard they were selling tilapia out of local feed stores? Not enought game wardens in Texas giving out tickets for that many baggers.

Guess I won't be arrested this year - already set up for delivery...

G/

No documentation just what I've heard. Who knows if its true or not.

Yeah, I don't know whether true either - seems like the vendor would be cited for selling "illegal tilapia"if he was bagging them for transport - I know feed store owners won't have exotic species licences.
G/

Rainman and George,

Thanks for clarifying up the waters.

Joshua

I made that mistake once.
No more feed store tilapia for me.
The kid bagging up my tilapia obviously had never done it before.
It took him forever to get them all bagged.
The one's bagged first started to look questionable on the way home.
Plus most were smallish and weak looking.

The next time I ordered from Overton's.
It was like night/day as far fish health, and size.

If you think TPWD is not enforcing the rules, watch/read this....

Texas Tilapia Fish Farmer ordered to destroy 50,000 Tilapia

I suppose one could order 10 fish, perform necropsy, and determine sex to see if they are all males? Order another 10 and see if they survive the trip? Under $5/lb is crazy cheap...heck, I'd even order some at that price for all my ponds annually even with my super short growing season [compared to TX].

"the state says he has no legal permit to raise".

George, My first thought that crossed my mind here was why the TP&W did not assist this person in getting the paper work instead of destroying the fish? Looks to me like the Goberment should have done what it could to help a citizen out. My second thought is this guy might be competing against the businesses that have done it correctly and this guy, being allowed, might compete against the fish guys who did it the right way. I would like to know more. I am guessing you might see in me my thought of Goberement be for the people and not against the people.

Tracy

Am I missing something here?

The guy claims "he has not had fish outdoors in three years"
but doesn't the video clearly show the fish are outdoors?

TGW1, When I first saw this story, the man with the T was growing without an exotic species permit, and TPWD DID help him come into compliance, but the man did not pay the renewal fee. Also, one story quoted the TPWD agent that spotted fish "in a pond" also said all the seen fish were dead, so I am sure there is a lot more to the entire story.

Thanks for more of the story Rainman

Tracy

Mozambique tilapia are legal to purchase, transport, and stock in your private Texas pond without any special permits. You need the exotic species transport invoice that we provide, in order to be legal.

Fish from grocery store or any other food producer are most definitely not Mozambique.

Hey Todd

Is it time to stockem yet?

Pat

Yes I feel like it is ok to proceed with tilapia stocking, at least at our latitude and further south...