Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations QUESTIONS ABOUT TILAPIA??

So i recently purchased 30 pounds of Tilapia and they come to the feeder and eat whenever it goes off. I seen a bunch of them yesterday at feeding time. I bought them from Todd and he feeds them pellets so i figured thats why there at the feeder. I feed three times a day so the question is are they still gonna eat the Coontail and FA or just eat the pellets? Why would you eat salad when you could have fillet all the time? I like to have salad with my steak but do they?

I have found the Tilapia to be omniverous in their diets and just like you have stated will eat almost anything. I also think they will spread out over time and start to do their work this summer. The hotter it gets the more active they will become and the more they will spawn and the more they will eat. Eventually you will not be able to put out enough food for that many fish and they will have to eat vegies.

I didnt know tilapia would eat coontail. TRhat why I am buying grass carp

Me niether till a couple of guys on here said they would. ive put in 10 grass carp last year and 30 pounds of tilapia. this year i put in another 30 pounds of tilapia hoping the guys will do a good job. i have coontail and american pondweed. i cant get hold on the stuff my water is just way to fertile, thanks to my neighbors 40 longhorn cattle and his 50 acres of runoff into my pond that he also makes hay on. but i guess i cant complain cause i think i have one of the most balance little fisheries there is. my pond is perfect for fish.

Tilapia are indeed omnivores, but I start my Blue Tilapia with Aquamax carnivore powder as fry, then progress to Aquamax grower 300 1/8" sinking pellets till about 4" (also for carnivores), then switch them to the floating Aquamax omnivore feeds. Floating pellet sizes are 3/16, 1/4 and 5/16. All per Purina's feed regimine. And all are very highly digestable.

It's VERY good stuff Maynard!

Im with James, I think you won't be able to feed them enough and they will have to start hitting the salad. Plus in my 4 acre pond there are a bunch that are on the shallow side of the pond that don't even make it to the feeder.

Not getting off topic but I have a bag of "32% Catfish food" that is leftover from the fall that I don't need anymore. Would it be ok for the Tilapia to eat. It doesn't smell bad or look bad... Im feeding Aquamax 500 now.


Also, who or where did you see that Tilapia eat Coontail? I'd like to read up on that...

The 32% catfish feed is what a lot of tilapia growers use. I guess adding supplemental feed is a decision to make based on your goals. If you want the T for plant control, don't supplement. If they're for bass growth or a combo, then go ahead and feed it. I'm not entirely sure you would even need to provide a supplement for the gills if you have a good mixed sex stock of T. The fry provide a LOT of forage for the fingerling bass and bluegill, plus surviving T spawn that get a few inches on them offer a lot of food for intermidiate size fish when the water temp cools.

Bear in mind with my tilapia feeding that my fish are all in a closed monoculture I HAVE to feed a quality, COMPLETE diet.

There is a thread under controlling coontail in unwanted plants section. check it out chad

I read the one on page 1 of the threads. The one individual that talked about his 1.5 acre pond with Tilapia also had 11 Carp in it. I expect thats what took care of it.

I never found any evidence they would eat it, if someone does please fill me in.