Just curious about how much observation has been put into watching the life cycle of Tilapia??
I have 4 tanks inside this winter and as some of you know, the main purpose was to start and observe some alternative minnow/forage species. Last fall I netted several fry Tilapia (Blue) from 3/8"-3/4" and I thought it would be a cool idea to keep them through winter and restock this spring. The aquarium I have the Tilapia in I also have a few FHM, a few GSH and a couple of Emerald shiners.
These fish are criminals.. they are now about 5-6" for males and around 3" for the females.
I've observed a couple of things.. #1, Tilapia are always hungry, #2, they will eat anything including other fish, and oh my they are suckers for Grass shrimp (PK). I put 3 YOY RES in this tank and within days the Tilapia had them killed and eaten, almost like Piranhas. They pick the bones clean and will work on the bones until gone-even while being fed high quality fish feed.
I would have never guessed these were so destructive and I'm not really sure I want to put these back in my pond.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I think they may be a stronger influence on the eco system then what I first believed.
Anybody have thoughts on this?

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