Tilapia primarily eat vegetation..including filamentous algae, the curse of most pond owners.
In the Sommerville area they will die each year..they began dieing at water temps of 55 degrees and all die by the time 50 degrees is reached. This is not a bad thing...as it may first appear. It allows you to control their numbers, provides tremendous forage for large bass (the large bass gourge themselves on the dieing Tilapia in the fall), and avoids one of the potential downsides to Tiplaia which has been reported to eat fish eggs including bass in Mexico where they survive year around.
Several publications available including last months Pond Boss article on Tilapia. They are a great fish, worth every penny they cost.
