That is really interesting article. The single sex and growth issues mainly concern people who grow people food, not fish food, like we do.
Texas A&M University has some good information available here:
http://srac.tamu.edu - publications 280 to 283 They have been growing Tilapia in the water from their hydroponic houses for years.
I believe only Tilapia Mozambiqua is legal to stock in TX, because they die out in the winter. Several other types would make it through the TX winter. According to this weeks article in Houston Chronicle, there is a thriving population of Tilapia - doesn't say which type - and other imported species in bayous around Houston.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/outdoors/2918238 My water is muddy, so I haven't been able to sight cast like Meadowlark, and I cought - drumroll please - 2 Tilapia in 5 weekends of fishing and netting. One 2lb and one 1lb. This is driving me bonkers, because I really like Tilapia meat and I still have to go buy it.
If there is one negative that I can see, it is that they eat too much vegetation. My water plants, that provided cover and shade couple of years ago, barely grew few strands this year. Shade is important here for about 3 mo during the summer, when cool night is around 80 Deg. I will try to grow lilypads in pots next year to keep the water cooler in summer. We will see if they make it. They didn't set back the cattails in any way.
I wanted to put bunch of Tilapia in an aquarium this year, to keep over winter. But the males are very territorial and the 2lb one killed the smaller one in 1 night. It tolerates bunch of bluegill just fine. It also reduced my flourishing aquarium plant to bunch of stumps. I feed it algae pellets now.
Meadowlark, I love the way you put it:
"they reproduce like rabbits, clean like a janitor, fight like a banshee, grow like weed, and taste great"
