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#346037 08/02/13 05:11 PM
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When the water temps get cold and the Tilapia float up are they dead or just dazed? I am looking ahead. Thanks in advance.

john kelsey #346038 08/02/13 06:01 PM
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Probably well on their way out. The dazed part of this was before they became floaters.

Don't know if you can do Cryo with Tilapia tho laugh

Been cold here in MI (GH area) this past week or so. Dang near like October, without the heavy rain.

A couple mornings ago, I went out to my truck and it was covered in dew type stuff, but it was like soap bubbles all over everything. Quite a few people noticed that and were wondering what this is. Ya had to wash it off, and those wondering were miles apart. Strange stuff!

john kelsey #346049 08/02/13 07:22 PM
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I am still thinking about my fish being cooked, over 100 every day for the next week as it was the last!

Rob C

john kelsey #346051 08/02/13 07:41 PM
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John I stocked tilapia last year for the first time.

I think I had about 120 lbs of them.

I saw maybe 5 or less dead fish once it got cold.

I'm not sure if they died and sunk to the bottom for the cats,
coons got them or what.

But the mass tilapia die off with lots of dead fish
floating or washed up on shore never happened.

Maybe it varies pond to pond and state to state.


Fishing has never been about the fish....

john kelsey #346068 08/02/13 10:10 PM
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John, first off, 99% of the tilapia spawned never make it to adult sizes before getting eaten in the pond throughtout the growing season. Second, when the temperatures get consistently cool, the tilapia get corralled into warm spots, becoming easier prey and reducing numbers of tilapia. Third, when the warmer pockets cool, and the tilapia become lethargic, all predator fish and even turtles will gorge. Fourth, when large tilapia eventually die, most sink and if not eaten by turtles and scavenger fish, they float and get consumed by terrestrial critters.

Any fish floating is when air and water temps are fairly cool, so rot and stench is slow to form allowing the terrestrial critters to do all the cleanup.

The thought of a mass die off making a pond unsightly is myth and just won't happen.



john kelsey #346079 08/03/13 06:15 AM
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Thanks guys.

john kelsey #346321 08/05/13 04:14 PM
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I finally made it out to fish this weekend and was able to catch about 7 Tilapia. Never really caught any before so not sure if it is because there are more in there they are so hungry they hit my bait.

I caught them on Shrimp, Worm, and FHM.

Had a nice one up to the bank and he got off.

I think I should have at least another 2 months before they start to die off.

john kelsey #346343 08/05/13 06:57 PM
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If your algae is gone, consider harvesting a couple every time you catch some. This makes sure they don't go to waste when they die which is usually the case.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/05/13 06:58 PM.

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john kelsey #346353 08/05/13 08:44 PM
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I know that the tilapia I got from Rex have spawned in our aquaponics tank. There are lots of them right now that are about an inch long. My son has the tank at his house, and has had great success with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. We were having problems with fish dying the first month or so, so he added a number of $0.10 goldfish to the remaining fatheads, bluegills, and, of course, the tilapia. The water has been very clear in the tank recently. The tilapia and goldfish seem to have cleaned all the algae out of the tank and off the tank walls.

I can't really tell what has happened to the tilapia in my two fish ponds. It appears that they have spawned, but what I'm seeing could be tiny bluegill or crappie. There is something swimming in the weeds that are about only about 1/2 inch. They have a sunfish type outline, so I am pretty sure they are not bass or catfish. They are still too small to capture with a seine. Maybe next week.

When cold weather starts, I hope I can salvage some from the aquaponics tank for overwintering, and maybe get some dinner size from the ponds, using a seine.

This is my first year trying tilapia. Up until now, we didn't know if they were legal or not in West Virginia, so I'd been reluctant to try them. They are legal! And, I've got the papers to prove it.


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MRHELLO #346370 08/05/13 10:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: MRHELLO
I think I should have at least another 2 months before they start to die off.


I would say 2-3 months at least, maybe 4. Last year I seined some up right before Thanksgiving just south of the OK border.

john kelsey #346375 08/05/13 11:50 PM
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I agree with Chris, My die off is pretty consistent with the first week of December, here in SW Oklahoma anyway.

Rainman or anyone else, I do often see a couple hundred to about 1000 dead in the 3-5 inch range every year. I thought this was great size for my bass to eat. Did they all die at once in a cold snap maybe before the bass got to eat them? Maybe I just had so many that the bass couldn't eat them fast enough? any theories?

Are there any studies about bass and tilapia die off?


Get out and fish.
john kelsey #346425 08/06/13 02:07 PM
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I am in NE Oklahoma but probably still have right at 3 months depending on any cold snap. I think I had a few left back in December last year that I would have like to net up or snag, they were pretty sluggish.

I may start to take some out if they continue to bite that easy and get a little larger. I had never caught them from this pond before but I added about 3x as many this year because they were smaller fish when we go them. I am sure they have spawned in the pond but I doubt I will ever confirm since the water is pretty turbid and most of them will get eaten before they get to any size I could prove to be certain it was a spawn.

The pond my dad put some in is much more clear but still has plenty of algae for them to eat. When we fished out there the other day there was a large one in there that had to be 2-3 pounds, just cruising around the bank and pecking at the brush in the pond. I wish I could have taken some video of it.

john kelsey #346460 08/06/13 09:27 PM
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Tilapia can spawn quickly and often. If you had them over the summer it is almost a certainty they spawned several times.
















jakeb #346724 08/09/13 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted By: jakeb
I agree with Chris, My die off is pretty consistent with the first week of December, here in SW Oklahoma anyway.

Rainman or anyone else, I do often see a couple hundred to about 1000 dead in the 3-5 inch range every year. I thought this was great size for my bass to eat. Did they all die at once in a cold snap maybe before the bass got to eat them? Maybe I just had so many that the bass couldn't eat them fast enough? any theories?

Are there any studies about bass and tilapia die off?


Jake, there is not a single "scientific" study I have seen on Tilapia in a sportfish pond environment, yet.

If your goal is to grow huge Bass, stocking Tilapia in numbers that produces more forage than can be consumed would cause the scenario you have described, yet with most Tilapia offspring never growing larger than a couple inches before being eaten, I would not expect to see many tilapia lying in a pond that are of a consumable size for the predators present.



john kelsey #349786 09/04/13 10:24 AM
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Here are a few Tilapia I was able to pull out of my pond yesterday. They said they were Niles when I bought them but I am not sure. I bet they will be tasty either way.


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john kelsey #349789 09/04/13 10:56 AM
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What size where the Tilapia when you stocked them? I have been thinking of putting some in my pond next year! Kind of wanted to no how well they grow. Has anyone tried the winter kind of Tilapia? My local fishery says they have them and do they die when it gets warm?

john kelsey #349791 09/04/13 11:07 AM
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Overwintering Tilapia in an outdoor pond in Northwest Ohio?


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
john kelsey #349792 09/04/13 11:08 AM
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Well mine ranged from the size you see in the pic to some that were 3-4 inches. They grow fast so I am sure these were the smaller one.

I have some in my pond pushing 2 pounds now but of course they do not want to bite.

I usually throw them back but since I do not make it to the pond that and wanted some fish for dinner I kept these. Plus there are many more in the pond still.

Not sure of the winter tilapia you mention, there are the Blue Tilapia that are the most cold tolerant but they still die in the winter, and are fine in the summer as well.

I would like to know more of these you talk about and what type they are.

Thanks

benji havens #349799 09/04/13 11:28 AM
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[quote=benj Kind of wanted to no how well they grow. Has anyone tried the winter kind of Tilapia? My local fishery says they have them and do they die when it gets warm?
[/quote]

Say what???? confused

You may want to call him again and ask him what species does that. Please write it down, and ask him the scientific name for it. I sure would like to know!

As far as I know, they prefer warm to hot water, as they are native to the Africa, and don't do very well in water temps less than 55°F


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
esshup #349811 09/04/13 12:10 PM
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Add me to that list of wanting to know about cold tolerant tilapia!!!!!!!!

Please let us know what you find out.

john kelsey #349813 09/04/13 12:20 PM
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the temps in my aquaponic system got to a low of 47f last winter, and i lost a few tilapia.. i turned a heater on to keep the water in the mid 50's and had no problems.. water hit the 60's and they started feeding really well..
i don't think you'll find any that will overwinter in an ohio pond..

Blue's are (from what i've read) the most cold tolerant, i have niles and blues, the fish i lost when it got cold were a few niles and one blue..and i have quite a few more niles than blues..
the breeder i got my niles from is in northeast ohio, blues came from Rex

i harvested 15 fish a couple weeks ago, they were 1" in july '12, over 2lbs at harvest..(10lbs of fillets from 15 fish)

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They are blues I thought they lived during winter they don't they just take the cold better sorry!

fish n chips #349834 09/04/13 02:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: fish n chips
Add me to that list of wanting to know about cold tolerant tilapia!!!


wouldn't cold tolerant tilapia be a nightmare?


Fishing has never been about the fish....

Zep #349838 09/04/13 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zep
Originally Posted By: fish n chips
Add me to that list of wanting to know about cold tolerant tilapia!!!


wouldn't cold tolerant tilapia be a nightmare?


They would probably taste much better.
Had store bought ones once. Tasted dirty, and never tried them again.

Zep #349844 09/04/13 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zep
wouldn't cold tolerant tilapia be a nightmare?


Yes


AL

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