Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Nile vs. Mozambique tilapia

I am told that only Mozambique tilapia will "work" in my pond. Why? Nile tilapia are the favorite of the fish farmers. They evidently reproduce or wouldn't be used. I've found a couple of graduate research papers that say all tilapia do well in brackish water and have found no distinction between the various species. So, what am I missing if they all reproduce and are not real particular about water quality? Did I misread or overlook something obvious? What is the defining characteristic(s)? Now, I'm not going to lose much sleep over this matter but am curious. Anybody know?

Dave,

My understanding is that the State of Texas established up-front that they would never allow a fish species in our waters that could upset the balance of Nature...witness the grass carp problem. They never want to repeat those mistakes and let in a walking catfish or other bad species.

Toward that end, they understood the tremendous positive benefits of Tilapia but also knew of potential downside risks...just look at Mexico and you will see what I mean. So, they choose the path of least risk which was to find the Tilapia that was most vulnerable to winter die off. That is the Mozambique. Thats my understanding and I totally agree with their logic.