Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Tilapia grow out tank

The pond was almost completely free of algae for the first couple of weeks in June. I noticed the algae increasing again around the 3rd week of June so I stopped feeding. I returned from vacation on July 9 and there was even more algae. Before yesterdays rain the algae appeared to be about where it started at this spring. Water temps are in the low 80s. I see schools of four or five tilapia about 4" long about every 30 feet around the bank. I dropped a handful of feed off the dock and one tilapia appearing to be about 10" managed to get a couple of pellets in the boil of bluegills. No fertilizer has been used in the field surrounding the pond.

What happened/is happening? Could they be spawning and therefore not eating nearly as much(2/3 are female)? I have not seen any tilapia fry but it is hard to tell because there is a lot of bluegill fry and, I think, a few bass fry (more slender with a black tail) as well as fatheads.

I have several options on what to do now and I'm interested in everyones input.

1. Let it go as is and keep the experiment pure, running full cycle through the season and see what happens.

2. Treat half of the pond with Cutrine and see if the tilapia can take care of the rest.

3. Treat the entire pond, half now and the other half in about a week, with Cutrine and see if the tilapia can maintain the pond for the remainder of the season.