Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Predator stocking

Please put me down for 1 million tilapia.

Actually, all you need is two and no predators and warm weather...presto one million Tilapia.

Sunil,
Caught me again, I started posting before the two monsoons, before the pond was full. It is now brimming. ML, it's not just the tilapia here, everything in the pond that can breed has bred, seems like every Wednesday I have a new batch of fry and the batches keep getting larger. I even have fresh water crabs, didn't know they existed.

Ok, the barramundi have been in the pond for 2 1/2 months now. I now see baramundi every day, probably conservative count of 50 or 60, the largest is about 3". They are now the same size as the smallest tilapia, the tilapia were 1 1/2" when the barramundi were stocked at 1". They seem to eat every living thing except water sliders and their eggs. I have no tadpoles, dragon flies or any fish fry. Before stocking I had up to a 1000 tadpoles every 6 weeks or so and fry every week. The barramundi are also eating pellets, or at least trying. They patrol in small groups of 4 to 10 and are extremely fast. They are mingling with the other fish at feeding time so when they become large enough to eat the others they will know where to go.
I have a question, now that the barramundi have wiped out several generations of other species, when will the other species fry start to survive and create the food chain?
A poacher has upset the balance in the pond, first by taking the largest tilapia and now the fingerlings, so I am planning on stocking many more tilapia in the next week or so in an effort to return the balance and provide additional food for the growing barramundi.
I read that out of a hundred small bass stocked only two would see the end of their first year and second all of my tilapia are sold as 99% male. With that in mind I am over doing the stocking. It will be another three months at least before I will be living at the pond site. So I must also plan for the poacher(s).

Here is some information:
http://www.nativefish.asn.au/barramundi.html

I can't believe the sizes:
Up to 1.8 m and 60 Kg (6' & 130 lb), common to 1.2 m

You may have created a monster with their teeth, size, and voracious appetite. Is there anyone else that stocks these fish in ponds in your area? Maybe you could find someone with experience. Without any other information I would cull the barramundi until you reach some kind of balance in your pond.

Rad :

Let them know if they will hold off a while you will give them a Bara. which will be bigger and taste great. The Bara. sound just like a hungry mob of LMB. You may have to get some female tilapia. Some people manage their LMB just as you describe , by adding additional forage as needed (BG ,TS, GS, tilapia , Shiners and pellets for all of them to eat). It makes it an aquaculture operation which works great just more intensive.

I have not done much fishing since we started building the house at the pond. But, the other day I thought is was time to wet a hook, so with cabbage in hand I started out. I had been fishing for several minutes when a tilapia took my bait. He carried it off about 30 feet and when I tried to set the hook I missed. I could see that there was about 1/2" square piece of cabbage left so I started a fast retrieve and wham, I got a strike, not a bite like pacu or tilapia but a strike. I got a small run and a few head shakes then I reeled it in, an 8" baramundi! These guys went in at 1" in the middle of november. I don't have any idea how many of the original 110 remain but the other species fingerlings are gone or in hiding and everybody is nervous. I don't even know if this fish was one of the original 110. Things have certainly changed since the days when I would see most of my fish at feeding time, now only the big guys show.

Rad :

That is almost 2 inches a mth. At that rate you will be eaten out of house and home. You may have to start full time feeding. Seems like I saw some info on art. feeding of bara. Did some checking -- Bara. on feed for 54 days went from 15g to 65g another group from 70g to 150g in 42 days wow. Just call them bruts. Check your email.

Thanks ewest a winner as always. I think mine are eating mostly live fish, they pecked at the 30% protein food pellets, but did not show the same interest as the omnivores. What was interesting was that some would take a pellet and push it,at the surface, to a remote area and then eat it. The omnivores take the food and drag in down. I stocked 2000 tilapia, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4", when the barramundi were about the same size, the tilapia are all but gone from view. We are in the hot season and tilapia breeders have little or nothing to sell until mid May, so my growth rates may slow. Interesting note: the turtles, frogs, toads, water snake and crabs have all left the pond. Even the herons have stopped coming by. I don't know if it's all interrelated,but it is interesting.

All of the non finned denizens leaving isn't just interesting; it's fascinating. Could this be weather related? Where could they go and why? Has this happened before and does it happen to other ponds? Could herons have migrated?

I just don't think I've ever heard of this.

Earthquake , volcano or tsunami on the way or is it anaconda ?

I didn't mean to make it sound so mysterious, but there are a few too many coincidences for me, all of this happened within a week or so. The herons are probably the easiest to explain, they don't normally feed in ponds around here, so when they first came and there was abundant food they came often. After the barramundi grew a little, the food at the surface dried up and they went back to their normal take out joints. Some of the turtles and all of the crabs, migrated into the pond so maybe they just migrated out, the snake is the hardest to figure, but maybe like the heron, he is a sight hunter. My water visibilty is 3" and with the fish gone or in hiding there was not much for him to eat. I am just starting into my second year with the pond, so maybe it's all part of a cycle and by next year I will have a better understanding....or not.

Ok, my tilapia reproduction has returned to is old formidable self, they are every where, only took a year. The poachers are gone and I think the barramundi are eating larger fish or are gone. I haven't seen one in a couple of months. They are about a year old now and I haven't tried to fish for them. We did catch two accidently, some time back, both about 8 to 10 inches long. Man, this patience is the key to so many things, why is it so hard to practice. I did catch a 5lb 2oz tilapia yesterday, that is about 10oz larger than the previous largest record for us. I was using a bobber and the fish hit it more often than the bait. I could see them take it and run for 20' or so then spit it out. I could put pressure on them and they still held on.

Rad with your year-round warm temps do you see the tilapia spawn/hatch all year ? If so that must be a real factory. A 5 lb + tilapia is big. It might feed a whole Tia family.

Rad- You should put some hooks on your bobber!

ewest,
They did before the barramundi and it looks as if they are reproducing at that rate now. The fry seem to have no fear they are back to swimming almost everywhere. It is good to see them in large numbers again. I will start planting them in the neighboring ponds soon, the cast netters seem to have moved on since I moved in so maybe the fish will have a chance to establish in them.
As an aside I have been trying to remove as many carp as possible and relocate them to these same ponds, but everybody I ask wants them to eat.
PFF,
I have a floating lure that looks a lot like a bobber that I might try. Either right before or right after feeding time they will try almost anything.