If you do go the copper sulfate route, just be careful not to over do it...
How big is your pond, how much free time do you have and do you have back problems? If your pond isn't overly large, you have free time to burn and your back is fine, nothing wrong with doing some good old fashion manual removal IMO...
You need a permit to stock tilapia in MS. Ewest a moderator on here lives in MS and can probably point in you in the right direction if you decide to go that route. Most recommendations I have seen for tilapia are in the 10-40 pounds per acre range. However, your pond doesn't have any bass in it yet which means you probably could get away with 10 pounds or less. Do you plan on stocking the pond with anything else besides shellcrackers(RES) and LMB?
There is a good possibility that as the temps go up, the occurrence of FA will go down. Each pond is different though... Aeration is almost always a good thing. It probably would help with the FA problem you are experiencing but it's not a magical cure. Running power can be expensive... They do make windmill and solar powered aerators, but I have ZERO experience and not much knowledge in that department. However, there are several forum members who know aeration like Bill Gates knows computers.
