Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Tilapia Die-Off?

My water temperature was 52 degrees in the shallow water this morning. I was expecting to see some dead tilapia since my pond is full of them. Do the fish that die from cold temperatures go to the bottom or do they float? Is there warmer water deeper or closer to the bottom on cold mornings?

The water is warmer deeper on cold mornings. When they die though they first go down and then will come floating up.

Good luck

Thank you Tex715 for your answer. Did you or anyone else ever take temperature readings to see when they started dying?

PFF,

I have measured the temps...I start seeing dieing, stressed fish at 55 degrees and die-off all the way down to 50 degrees after which, there are no survivors. Shallow water, however, is the first to cool down and the first to warm back up. The temps I refer to are at depths in my ponds.

I know I have seen this answer before and forgotten, but what kind of instrument do you use to take temperatures at lower levels and where can you buy one?

PFF,

This is what I use. It measures and reports temps in 5 foot increments. Its called a fishfinder and I'm pretty sure I got it from Cabellas for about $65. Based on my own independent calibrations, I've found it isn't highly accurate on depths but very good on temps. Very small and compact and you just attach it to your line and drop it through the water column.

PFF, i have a (~$400) water meter (does stuff other than temp) with probe attached by 10 foot cable to meter.....just drop it down and let readings equilibrate on meter. there are cheaper meters you can get with long cables if all yer after is temp. google the following companies which have both single and multiple parameter meters........hanna, YSI, Horiba, LaMotte, Oakton. There are probably others.....in recent years i've found hanna to be best bang for buck.

edited post.....and as usual, fellow pondmeisters have their own creative and less expensive ways of accomplishing things.....but i aint that smart......thanks ML

Meadowlark- I noticed on the roll call thread that you said it would be a good time to harvest. How do you harvest yours?

I use a somewhat unreliable, unperfected, original approach, which when it works, it is spectacular, but when it doesn't work, its just another day in paradise.

After a cold front, especially one which takes the night temps into the 40's, the afternoon full, bright sunshine shinning on the shallows sets up an opportunity to lure tremendous numbers of Tilapia away from BG and any predators. I use range cubes as the lure. In fact, I just went out and "seeded" a couple of ponds. Around 3 this afternoon, I'll sample the seeding efforts. If its right, I'll catch dozens of Tilapia, more than I can clean....if it isn't, its just another day at the ranch. All I need is one day when its right and I can fill our freezer with more Tilapia than we can eat this winter. Its a blast when it works, absolute blast.

Unfortunately, it is not perfected yet, but I'm still working and refining the approach.

meadowlark-How do you catch them? Do you use a seine?

No, when I can get them isolated away from BG and predators, can catch them on small nymphs, mealy worms, regular worms, or just about anything.

Today, for example, it didn't work because we couldn't isolate the Tilapia away from the predators. We caught a dozen HSB like the one below in one pond and tons of BG in the other pond. I think the water is still too warm for Tilapia by this technique...but it won't be for long.

Thank you Meadowlark. You are always ready to help someone with all your experience. You are truly a great asset to this forum. Thank you also DIED for your effort.

What the heck is a "range cube?" I have a guess but not sure.

Range cubes are large pellets of ground alfalfa bonded together used for livestock feed. They are used for chumming catfish, feeding forage fish etc. The higher protein cubes(pellets) sink and breakup.

Thanks BM I did not know what they were.

PFF and Tilapia folks,

Made another try today with better results but the water is just too warm and the predators are tooo active for good Tilapia catching.

Typical Tilapia:


Typical predators:





and way too many of these guys...three 10 pounders today...



James Holt, if you see this post, thanks for the suggestion on the electric fillet knife...it works wonders on Tilapia.

Here you go Cecil....their intended use is for cattle feed but they make a very good fish attractant also. If you look closely you can see the ingredients and analysis

Meadowlark I think I am having the same problem with the warm water. I just can't seem to catch the tilapia this year. I see the small ones come almost to the shore feeding on the fish pellets but lately I have had no success at all catching the larger ones. It has been very warm here lately and so maybe thats the problem. I just don't know. I am going to try the range cubes next and try to lure them in to the shore. How big are your hybrids? They are becoming my favorite pond sport fish because they grow fast fight hard and can be caught!

James,

The HSB caught on this Tilapia excapade were 3 to 4 pounds on the Boga...20 to 22 inches.

I'm trying to do a little survey, as best I can, among Texas HSB pond owners, via the internet, to get more info on how large they have been able to grow out the HSB in ponds and to ask the extent to which, if any, they have experienced summer angling and/or non-angling mortality. If interested, I'll send you the results, assuming I can get representative results...thus far one respondent has said he has never had them get over three to four pounds in his ponds and he can't afford to continue to stock shad to feed them.

Thanks again for the tip on the electric fillet knife from Academy...it really works great on the Tilapia...and I even filleted a gut hooked BG with it.

Why would you stock shad to feed them? Mine eat pellets just like catfish. In fact one of the best baits that I have tried is corn. I think that mine after one and a half years are weighing about 1/2 pound less than yours. I think I told you I have caught them on almost every lure and every bait I put in the water. I have caught them on worms, shrimp, liver and corn. I have caught them on rattle traps rooster tails and super flukes. These fish will eat almost anything put in the water including tilapia! Tell this guy if he wants to save money on shad feed them fish pellets or if thats still too much they will also eat my free dog food. lol

Yep, they will hit most anything and do well on high protein pellets. I'm really curious as to what top-end weights we can expect to see in our Texas climate....and also seeking any data on summer mortality. I'm hoping that the Texas State record of just over 5 pounds in ponds is just an anomaly.

Todd Overton told me that they should top out at about eight pounds.

Todd if you read this will you please reply especially if I'm wrong.

James,

I'll take your word that I told you 8 lbs...can't remember that conversation. I think it is possible with high protein (40%+) pellets, assuming you aren't holding back the feed, especially during growing temperatures of 60-80.

I will also tell you that most of us are new to HSB management and that I haven't seen an 8 lb fish yet from my clients. That's not to say that it isn't possible. If you aren't feeding your hsb's to saturation with high protein pellets then you might want to consider threadfin shad.

How are your hsb's growing, James? Have you seen a decline in growth rates, or are they growing at a constant rate and staying fat?

Ohhh, I forgot to tell:

One customer of mine has already caught 50 lbs of tilapia from his pond on biscuit dough (canned). He mixes a bit of fish food with it, into a ball, on a treble hook, and says it works great.