They die off every winter like they do everwhere they can be stocked legally...this is a good thing...no chance of overpopulation and no chance of them surviving in state water's if they got out. The two years I had them they died off in mid-October. You can get live tilapia from Jungle Jim's grocery but they're probably all male which is fine for algae control but won't reproduce they're fairly cheap too...cheaper than algaecide. I haven't had much luck finding a source of sufficient size and mixed sex in Ohio and producing them myself is too much trouble. I've worked on getting Freshwater Farms and Jone's to get some for a couple of years without results. Maybe we can talk Rainman into delivering us some when he's in KY? I know at least 10 other guys in our area that want them. Search "tilapia grow out tank" There's a pretty lengthy thread I started a few years ago with before and after photos.

Did a fish farm talk you into stocking so many hybrid bluegill?

Another thing to consider: The bass I got were in a stock tank being fed pellets. At the time, there was little talk about feed trained bass and I hadn't even considered the importance. I'm a bass fisherman, so catching stockers was no trouble but I feared introducing disease so I bought fish to stock. A majority of the bass I purchased stayed on pellets. Bass will grow a pound for roughly every 2lbs of pellets they consume. I'm not feeding pellets solely, just once per day to supplement natural forage. IMO, getting feed trained bass would be good insurance that you could keep your bass fed and growing should you not be able to harvest wild prey.



"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking