Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Do Tilapia Still Work....?

Ok so I stocked 10 lbs of tilapia in my 1/4 acre pond at the beginning of May this year:

1. I have seen them hitting the algae early in the morning before the hot sun comes up (Texas). In the picture below I took a picture of the broken up area on the shore where I released them to the pond and they seem to eat at the most.

2. I feel like they are hardly putting a dent in the issue.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qg2s5kpn3dp9tyt/image1.JPG?dl=0
(picture from 7/17/2016)

3. The guy at Wilner Fish Farms recommended I double the stocking to 20lbs the first two years and then go down to 10lbs for two years then 5lbs by year 5 then continue to stock at at least 5lbs a year to maintain the pond.

4. Does it just take time in a really neglected pond (just moved in this last year) that the previous owner cared nothing for it for 10 years.



ON THE BRIGHT SIDE IT IS A GREAT DRAGON FLY OASIS......

Wow. You weren't kidding about an algae problem. Maybe you got started a little too late in the year with stocking?

Yea the only problem is that they won't release Mozambique (all I can get) until May to June because of potential "cold rains". So should gradual change the goal in ponds or is it a quick fix ?

I know very little about Tilapia and the photo isn't the greatest, but if I'm seeing things correctly, I would have a hard time believing they will be able to get ahead of that. But, as I said I'm not a tilapia guy.

sprkplug Thanks...

What is the most ECONOMICAL way to help this pond in your opinion? I didn't really mind if tilapia take a few seasons to restore a neglected pond to at least progress... I just can't afford to get it dredged or anything of that nature. The pond behind mine is probably 2 acres and clear as hell with ZERO aeration... I am starting to believe they received some free tilapia from my overflow and I lost some..

Honestly, I might hit the reset button. Drain, Dig, and start over. Not trying to sound harsh, but sometimes it really is the best solution. Hang tight though, lots of folks brighter than me, and you may get some better options.

Tony, you might as well be, I was about to say the same thing.

Muck, I've had tilapia the last 4 or 5 years, and in my experience, they aren't a magic bullet for all algae problems. You stocked the tilapia at 40#'s per acre, and that's a lot. But, tilapia stocking size can also determine if those fish are even still around. If you have LMB, or perhaps even CC, small tilapia can be easy targets and there's the chance that few are left.

I can't comment on the annual declining tilapia stocking ladder recommendation, because algae's not necessarily the same every year. We've had years when a 80#'s per acre wouldn't be enough, and other years like this year, when we don't stock them for anything but forage. I'm not sure you can bank on decreasing annual tilapia use without first figuring out what's causing all the algae. A pond's water clarity, average depth, existing aquatic plants (if any), watershed, etc. can all affect it positively or negatively.

Kelly Duffy recently posted a picture of his guys removing floating algae mats with a minnow seine, and that would be my first step. Then I would treat 1/4 of the pond at a time with a good algaecide.

Here's a good document on pond algae.

http://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/fsa-9094.pdf

Tilapia are "one piece of a puzzle", but they certainly aren't the "cure for cancer"....much less a pond with that level of infestation of FA. What is the depth of your pond? If it is shallow that could be part of the problem. Do you have cattle, horses, and/or mules with access to the pond? Chemical treatment like Cutrine Plus early in the season would be my primary weapon, and then once brought under control the tilapia with their duel purpose (fatten bass and help with FA) can be added.

If 20# were stocked in May, my first thought is they were graded, and/or a single sex was stocked. I have never seen even a well fertilized horse pond get that heavily covered with FA!

I'd suggest stocking at least 20-30 more pounds from another supplier, like Texhoma, removing some manually, and then a granular copper based algeacide

Muck - Based on a cursory inspection of your photo, I'd guess the issue is Azolla rather than algae. Can you post a close-up photo of some of the stuff held in your palm?

Rex,

Why would it matter if they were graded. I'm assuming you mean the faster stronger growing fish from the smaller weaker ones. I would assume that would be a good thing because you would be getting the most aggressive fish seaking more food. Correct me here where I am mislead. Now I totally understand the same sex issue, I mean it took Adam and Eve to reproduce, not Adam and Steve. LOL

Graded fish over 4" often lead to many being one sex or the other, but usually mostly male, and less reproduction.

I thought that is where you would go with that. Thanks

Wow!!! The responses are great so far, most likely the best forum I have used lately, thanks yall. So to answer a few questions:

1. Yes this is a run off pond and upstream is a pond that has cattle running through it sometimes and the owner I had brought the property from had 3 horses and a donkey that hung out by it quite a bit.

2. I have posted a photo of it close up in my hand, some looks like duckweed but not sure what the red type stuff is?

3. I uploaded a video as well showing the Tilapia going crazy on one side of the pond. There were tons of them swimming around.

4. One thing I have noticed is that there has been less minnows swimming in the pond so maybe they have had so many minnows to eat they have slowed down on the growth?

Growth in hand: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kdmoazjx602l82h/IMG_2361.JPG?dl=0



Video of Tilapia feeding:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/th8skdwucj1d1br/IMG_2378.MOV?dl=0

yes that does not look like FA...

Not FA but azolla -- see this including the management options

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/visual-index/mosquito-fern/

Thanks yall, It seems like the Tilapia are just having a hard to keeping up with it but surprisingly when I took the photo this morning it seems that the stuff is actually breaking up now across the entire surface.

Underneath there is FA for sure but the Tilapia have thinned that out where they are eating and I just assume they will make their way around the pond especially if the pond level goes down (which it should) I would hope they will eventually turn to the muck on the bottom.

I have also been removing some mechanically when I get a chance with my homemade boom/grabber or whatever you wanna call it and it grabs the algae and many other things. Picture below:

Remover:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2k55aw5lnadga0t/Remover.JPG?dl=0


Poultry bonus picture (maybe feed the Azolla and FA to poultry?)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9bq3cy4qrml2y3/Poultry.JPG?dl=0

Mechanical removal is a very good idea. It gets rid of the plants and the locked up nutrients.

Muck,

Welcome.

I did see a reduction of azolla when I added Tilapia, but you have a boat load!! Get busy removing what you can. It will be worth it! This is not going to be a quick fix. Stay with it, and you will see great results.

MUCK.
Welcome to "repurposing" unwanted pond weeds.
I pile FA and Elodea on the bank in an area that our hens can access while they're free ranging, then wheelbarrow it to their chicken run when the opportunity arises. They spend days and days scratching through it, over and over. When they're finally satisfied I move it out to garden plots.
A friend likes to joke that I could be the only person in landlocked Colorado who spreads "seaweed" on his garden.

Welcome.

I did see a reduction of azolla when I added Tilapia, but you have a boat load!! Get busy removing what you can. It will be worth it! This is not going to be a quick fix. Stay with it, and you will see great results.
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Yea just 30 minutes yesterday did some good damage to it, the interesting part is where I clear creates an open area and the Tilapia seem to prefer feeding on that region I am assuming because they can see predators easier....

For any of you interested the pic I linked ( the one with the cow ) was taken by our own Kelly Duffie.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/visual-index/mosquito-fern/

Good catch on the Azolla.

I've never seen it anywhere around here. How common is it?