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Second, Tilapia, without question, substantially increased the BG population in each pond I stocked them in. In ponds that clearly were BG difficient and a pond that already had substantial BG, both benefited from Tilapia stocking with increased BG populations.
Have we ever discussed why the presence of Tilapia improves the condition of BG in a pond? If so, I don't remember it. If it was just the number of BG being higher, that would be pretty easy to understand - LMB preying on Tilapia instead of BG.

My assumption for the reasons behind improved BG condition is that the Tilapia are consuming food (e.g. FA) which is NOT readily usable by BG, so (1) Tilapia do not directly compete with BG for resources. (2) BG may prey on Tilapia fry, directly converting some of the previously unusable food into BG mass. (3) By converting FA back into nutrients to grow plankton, the Tilapia indirectly contribute to the BG food supply.

Does that make sense to anyone?

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