esshup asks "In your opinion, if a PondMeister has a heavy algae growth, what should the stocking rates be?" Good question. The answer depends mostly how one defines "heavy algae growth". It also probably depends on the type of algae. Too bad there isn't a good quantitative or even qualitative way to estimate heavy alage growth. Distance the growth extends out from shore would be a good place to begin. Then the next feature one should know is how tall the algae is above the bottom.
At this point I am not sure if tilapia will eat cool water algae as well as warm water algae and also bluegreen (FA Cyanobacteria) as well as green algae (Chlorophyta). There are definate differences in flavors and textures of both types. The Cyanobacteria are generally the ones that produce offensive flavors in water and fish. Lots of unknows at this point about what tilapia can do specifically. The other important feature is how much recruitment can these fish provide in a predator based pond. Is amount of habitat and cover a factor in their recruitment?
At this point a very light stocking of tilapia is IMO 2-5 lbs /ac and a heavy stocking is 25-30 lbs/ac. I'm still very much a novice at all this tilapia stuff. The learning curve is steep.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/05/10 10:04 PM.
