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#274762 12/01/11 08:04 PM
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Got a question here for a man I think his name is ( Rainman ). How many tilapia do I need to wipe out a heavy algae problem in a 8/10 acre pond? What size must tilapia be to avoid predation. I have a friend who is raising and breeding some blue tilapia and he has 100's of babys to give me. I have a 600 gallon pond that I thought I could raise some up in if you think it is feasible. The pond I would be putting them in has a heavy population of green sunfish and a decent population of bluegill and bass. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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Just to tide you over 'till Rex chimes in here. I stocked 36# of 6"-8" long Tilapia in a pond that was the same size as yours. They spawned multiple times and had lots of babies. There was absolutely no algae growing in the pond all year, and visibility was averaging 16"-18". I had to treat the stream that was formed by taking water from the pond and recirculating it for algae growth roughly every 5 weeks. So, I know something had to be keeping the FA in check in the pond.

There was minimal predation in the pond, so I have no idea how many Tilapia were in the pond at the end of summer.


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I was worried about the predation because I dont know if I can raise them in my 600 gallon stock tank to a big enough size before I release them without having water quality issues. If I only had to raise them to say 4-6 inches, I might be alright.

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I stocked them in a customers pond at a rate of 30# per acre. The pond was very shallow (8-9ft max) and crystal clear. We had very little algae all year, so the little the customer didn't complain. We stocked a 4-8" mix in early spring and the customer recently caught a 22" tilapia.


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Sorry not been around a while....I was getting ready to post about the Tilapia Rex put in our pond....THEY DID AWESOME!! Back in April we put in 40 pounds in a two acre pond and I have ended up with about 1000-1500 pounds (guessing) they for sure HAMMERED all the algae!! I'm getting them again next year FOR SURE!!! It seems like they reeled my old pond back 10 years!!

Water temp today was around 47, I have been walking the banks just netting them as the come up towards the bank, we netted 60 "two plus" pounders yesterday...Best eating fish I have ever had, big white fillets, better than bluegill which was my favorite till now...Can't say enough!!

Airborne, I'm also in Ripley County Indiana (around Milan)

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Is that the best way to harvest them at the end of the year. I had heard you could just scoop them up but wasnt for sure that would work. Is this about the time of year that they start to die off. I am really hoping to collect a couple hundred pounds of them at the end of next season.

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Scooping up temperature stressed tilapia is a lot easier said than done. It can work but several conditions have to all align up together for it it be easy; the right time and the right place sort of thing. Plus a significiant percentage sink when they are dying or are dead.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 12/03/11 02:36 PM.

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Airborne....40 pounds per acre has worked very well in you climate.

We used less on Snides pond because it got deep fairly quickly and algae growth, while heavy, was limited as to the bottom area involved. Had his pond been more shallow, 80 pounds would have been needed for good control.



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Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
Scooping up temperature stressed tilapia is a lot easier said than done. It can work but several conditions have to all align up together for it it be easy; the right time and the right place sort of thing. Plus a significiant percentage sink when they are dying or are dead.


I agree Bill, some had more spunk that others and swam off still fairly quick. Netting was pretty easily done to the "more sluggish" ones. What I've found out since is that they vanish quickly? I dunno where they go? For instance: A few weeks ago we had a warmer calm, sunny 60 degree weekend. We visually observed 200 or more around the perimeter of the pond near the banks, we walked around netting the sluggish ones and the ones that swam off we figured we get the next day, well the numbers have dwindled fast it went from seeing a bunch of them in a day or two to less and less everyday now they are just gone...Not seeing any dead ones no floaters nothing? It's been down in the low 30's high 20's for the last week or so, should I suspect they are gone????

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Bottom of the pond, unless the clean up crew was busy. Not enough temperature (i.e. heat) to generate decomp. gasses that make them float.


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OK thanks. How big do they need to be to avoid predation. Just an example, if I release 3-4 inch fish, will they most likely make it to reproduce or am I better off with 6-8 inch fish.

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Bigger is definately better. How big are the LMB in the pond?


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The pond has a mix of fish and sizes in it. We stocked it 10 years ago before I joined the military and it was an awesome little fishing hole for several years. Then the problems started to evolve. The farmer raises lots of hogs and spreads his manure in surrounding fields and some of it runs off into the pond. He has started keeping a buffer zone of about 40 yards of grass around the pond but in the spring it just rains to much to be controled. Then a couple years ago he said there was a big turn over when we had a dry hot summer and he thought it killed all the fish. Last year I started working on the pond by dragging the FA out with my boat and I started fishing it to see what was left in it. I caught hundreds of green sunfish and pitched them out and to my surprise I caught a few nice bass and some small ones. I transfered 15 10-14inch bass from another pond and about 100 bluegill also. I talked to him about buying Tilapia from you, but he doesnt really want to put any money into the pond. He basically gave me the rights to do what ever I want with the pond. So I have a friend who is in the hobby of breeding a few fish to sell and he started a small aquaponics set up and had 100's of baby blue tilapia. I got 14 from him and have them in a 55 gallon tank right now. My plan was to breed them over the winter and release them in the spring. My problem is if I can keep water quality good enough to get them big enough to make it until spring. I have a 300 gallon tank that I could keep them in but I still dont know if that will hold enough and raise them big enough that they wont just be bass bait when I release them. My ultimate goal is to release them, have them eat most of the FA, then the green sunfish will be vulnerable to the bass, then fall comes and I can scoop up as many as I can find and fry em up. Let me know what you think of this plan and thanks for the help. Ive heard nothing but good stuff about you.

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Thanks airborne. I'd stock at least 6" ones, that way there'd be less chance for predation. The LMB would have to be about 18" to eat a 6" Tilapia.


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Does anyone know if there is any place in NC or surrounding areas to buy tilapia?


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Originally Posted By: spinnerbait
Does anyone know if there is any place in NC or surrounding areas to buy tilapia?


CJBS2003 will know. He's from Virginia. He usually comes on here much later due to his shift work. Either that or P.M. him.


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Kevin Patterson of southeast pond stocking has them but you need a permit
www.seponds.com

Last edited by docg; 01/20/12 08:52 PM.

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Doc,
NCWRC website says no permit needed when stocking private ponds. Am I not seeing something?
Also what would be a stocking rate for a 1 acre pond with adult tilapia, that the bg/bass population is 18 months old? Bass are at the 12-14 inch range.
Thanks for the input.


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Kevin told me I had to have someone come out and look at the pond. I'm thinking a game warden. You could call and ask him. He can also give you stocking recommendations. He's a good guy. I get my tilapia from him. As you can tell the permit thing is a bit confusing.


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Thanks for the input. How are your fish doing? Are you using them for forage?


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My experience with the Blue Tilapia is that 17# won't control algae in a 1 ac pond, but when stocked at the rate of 40# per acre, they will. I haven't tried any numbers between those 2.

I'd be looking at stocking fish that were 5" and larger to keep your LMB from eating the stockers.


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They love to eat pellets and usually die out about middle of December. I use them just for forage. I don't have an algae issue. Usually filet out about 10 per year


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Are you getting a permit each time you purchase them in the spring? I was hoping they might survive the winter, but I'm only a hour from you west of WS. Same weather here, although this year hasn't been to bad yet. When do you start your spring stocking?


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They will not live through the winter. We get about 10 out per year to fillet. About purchasing them each year without a permit........I don't know what you're talking about. Wink wink


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Thanks for the info. Doc. I found a guy in Asheville that will sale me 20 - 5 inch fish for $40 bucks. I have to pick them up, but thats Ok. I have made a transport tank out of a 55 gallon plastic drum. Mainly for shad, but will work great for this.


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