Originally posted by Cecil Baird1: I've done everything but hit other fish farmers over the head with this idea, but they seem to be slow to accept new ideas.
Cecil, IMO it isn't only fish farmers that are slow to accept new ideas. Tilapia are so much more than a fish for algae control, so much more...and yet look at how slow many on this Forum have been to accepting them.
I went to a cattle workshop the other day and Ken Hale was there and gave a short presentation on Tilapia at the end of the workshop. People were clamoring for info..how many do I need, when can I stock them, where can I buy them? The cattle ranchers showed much more interest in Tilapia than the latest techniques on cattle ranching. There was more discussion about Tilapia at that cattle meeting, I suspect, than there was in recent pond conventions. It is amazing to me that in Texas, Tilapia warrant a place on the agenda for cattle ranchers at a cattle workshop, but don't for pond owners at a pond workshop. Amazing. Just amazing!
That meeting showed me that the general pond person out there is far more open to new ideas than perhaps the hard core, seasoned pond meister and certainly some pros. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, although I'm sure many will take it that way and try to twist my words to be negative with unintended meanings. I know what Tilapia have done for my ponds, my pond fishing, and I'd like to see others have the chance to get those same benefits and have the enjoyment of their ponds that I have.
