Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Moores Fish Farm

I think Cecil is making a run at Theo!

I miss Theo's posts and wit...

So you grew out some fry, I thought you saved some larger ones. Did the large ones over winter then since you said they were 3 pounds or so.

How many fry did you have in the aquarium and what kind of filtration, air, etc. do you have?

How often did you have to change the water?

Thanks

Cheezy, I am also interested in your tilapia fry growout story. MrHello asked some good questions for starters.
1. Also what were you feeding them as they grew larger? Larger pellets or crushed pellets as they grew larger?
2. How often did you feed them?
3. Did you have anything in the aquarium besides water, filtration, and fish?
4. Did you have to vacuum out manure and debris?
5. Any idea how many fry you started with in 75 gal you to end up about 30 at 4"-6"? By fry were they 3/4", 1", 1.5", 2" or larger?
6. Did you notice siblings eating the ones that died along the way?
Thanks for sharing your comments. When this info is complete, I will summarize it in its own topic or the archives.

No, We ate the large ones. I only over wintered the fry. Here is a pic.





I have to give credit to rainman. He helped me ID the fish even though we were not positive they were tilapia. Very hard to ID fish that small. I was hedging my bets that they were tilapia because I had never seen balls/schools of fish like this in my pond and a tilapia was near by guarding them. Rainman also gave me some basic numbers for carrying capacity of the aquariums so I leaned on the low side since I'm lazy.

I had no idea that I would be asked such specific questions so I found my notes where I kept some data. I used two aquariums. A 45 gallon and 72 gallon (not 75 like I thought). Started with Approx. 20 fish in the 45 gallon and 35 fish in the 72 gallon. My starting count could be off for each tank because some did die but I didn't keep count. I ending up with 30 from the large tank which I re-stocked in my pond and 17 from the smaller tank which I stocked in my neighbors pond.

1)I started them on crushed/powder aquamax 500. I spent less time crushing the pellets as they grew larger. Eventually they were eating full size pellets.
2)Twice a day. Morning/Evening. I turned the filter off while feeding.
3)Pea gravel, plastic plants
4)Yes, about once a month I had to vacuum the tanks out. I used a modified hose to use the existing pumps/filter to clean the tanks. Then I would change the filters. Once they reached approx 2 inches I had to vacuum twice a month. I really didn't do a water change....but I added water occasionally to account for evaporation.
5)I can't be positive how many I lost. I know I netted a few dead ones out and it is possible that some were ate before I noticed. The fry were right at 1/4 inch. Some a little smaller and some a little bigger. All were less than 3/4 inch.
6)I did notice one time that a dead one looked like it had been snacked on....but I didn't witness the snacking : )

45 gallon tank had a Aqua-Tech 30-60 power filter and the 72 gallon had 2 of them.

I got the results I was looking for. I was able to keep the fish alive even though I'm lazy. This year I'm going with a single 72 gallon and 6 coppernose bluegill since I'm not seeing any tilapia fry. Should be much easier to care for them.

So it does not sound like you had much of a Bio Filter for you setups. Nice to see you were able to keep them alive and plant them in ponds.

Have you seen or caught any of them this year?

Do you happen to know what type of Tilapia they were?


I have 6 in a 10 gallon tank (that range from 2"-5") I am trying to keep alive for next year as well, I would have put them in the ponds this year had I known it was going to stay 80+ degrees through October.

I am feeding them a combo of GFC, Goldfish Flakes, Beta Pellets and Cichlid Pellets. (Anyone know if all these foods are ok, or which would be best)

It looks like I have at least one dominant male that keeps spreading out the gravel, but have not witnessed any type of mating activity, then again I have not had much luck trying to sex the fish.

The Cichlid pellets should be all you need if it is a "complete diet".

Tilapia are Cichlid's.

Yes, I have caught and released a few. I always see them when feeding. As I said before, they were mixed.

Good luck with over wintering yours. I was always afraid they would survive up until April and then die before I got release them.

I'll second that!

Cheezy, Thanks for the your tilapia growing lessons. Informative. A couple people that I know and myself are overwintering some YOY blues. I will keep readers posted on the progress in another thread / topic under Types of Fish to Choose - Overwintering Young Tilapia. Look for it the first week of November.

Hey Rainman, Besides changing water every few days, what's a good way to keep nitrite levels down to a reasonable level???

Nitrifying bacteria will consume nitrites and convert them to nitrates. Nitrates are only consumed by plants or must be removed with water changes.

Are there any types of plants you can put in your aquarium that will consume the Nitrates and the Tilapia will not eat?

I have not found any plant, living or dead, that does not get eaten by the tilapia. You could always pump water into a seperate container/aquarium containing plants....The aquaponics theory.

What about some of the pond weeds and plants they do not eat.

I wonder if they would work or they may eat them as well if stuck in a tank.

Would something like Naiad, Bladderwort or Coontail live in a tank?

I have seen where elephant ears have been used in a filter but not directly in a tank.

in a tank, there isn't a plant they won't eat! In a pond with lots of variety is a whole other thing.

You have to give me some hope.

Okay...Try planting a Bald Cypress...

That�s funny!!!

By the way the Tilapia in my tank seem to be real active lately, the largest one is chasing the others around.

Do you think these are all males guarding territory or do males chase females as well to convince them to mate?

I think it would be neat for them spawn, but no idea where I would put the fry.

They are extremely territorial toward all other tilapia.

Thats funny Rainman!!!

Just to follow up on this, I put two plants in the tank and they have yet to eat them. I think they were called Anubis.

I am thinking of getting a few more to help pull some of the nutrients from the water.

Do you think this would help, if so how many should I add?

I only have 5 fish left now, and trying my best to keep them alive to stock them in May.

Thanks

Since I don't think we are talking about Jackal headed Egyptian gods, I'll bet the plant name is Anubia.

I'll also bet the reason tilapia have not eaten the plant is that they are a bit larger...over 5 inches and are being fed a pellet diet. My tilapia ate Anubia when food was withheld.

You are probably right on the name, just going by what they told me (I thought is sounded funny as well). Anyway they do get feed but only 1 time a week as I am trying to hold them off until it gets warm and I can either put them in my 300 gallon tank outside or release them in my pond.

Since I only have 5 fish I will probably never see them again if let go in a pond and not sure if I would even get a spawn.

Just thought I would give it a shot to see what happens.

Any thoughts on that?