I follow this thread with great interest. Just today I mailed my application to Virginia Game & Inland Fisheries for permission to purchase and stock 50 3"-5" Mozambique tilapia into my 1/4 acre spring-fed pond.
I manage my pond primarily for rainbow trout, but I also have channel catfish, largemouth bass and "hybrid" (now mostly F2 green) sunfish [all stocked by previous owners].
I wouldn't say my pond is coldwater (despite its spring), nor warmwater. The bass don't do well, nor the channel catfish because the water is so cool, and the forage so sparse. The rainbows manage to struggle through the summer (I have an aeration system) even though surface temps can hit 78 degrees or more in August.
But what I have in great abundance is chara. My hope is that a May-to-October tilapia population will help crop that down and help feed three species of predators over a five month period.
If I get the official OK, I'll keep you all posted on how this little experiment works ... if I can find a supplier!
