Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Tilapia vs Goldfish Growth Rates

Ok I have read a ton on here about how fast Tilapia can grow to a nice size.

My question is what is the ratio of there growth compared to gold fish?

The reason I ask is it seems my gold fish currently are growing faster than my tilapia and I never thought that to be possible.

Now this may change over the next few months, but just wanted some ideas and thoughts on this.

Thanks

Well have not had any hits on this yet so thought I would bump it.

Thanks

I personally dont like tillapia, they seem to get wormy, wish I could help you more.

I don't know.

I'm in Dave's camp. Mr. Hello, why don't you document their growth rates, that way when someone else asks the question you'd have an answer for them?

I am tracking that, just thought that the Tilapia would out grow the Goldfish, although I can now see how they get large quick enough to get out of control if the LMB are not that large in a pond.

They are going to dies after getting that big. Not much of a fight when you catch a big tilapia.

Temperature is a huge variable between the two. I would bet optimal growth temps for goldfish is several degrees cooler than what is optimal for tilapia.

Temp is what I thought would be the issue for the goldfish and figured the heat may slow them down if not kill them. As for the Tilapia I thought is was the best temps, they are ranging from 84-92 through out the day now with these wonderful 110 degree days we are getting in Oklahoma.

Goldfish can live in water temps over 100 degrees, so the temps will not kill them. I am guessing they grow just fine in 84-92 degree water temps.

Well they all seem to be eating just fine, but the food I have is too large and they have to work to get it. Would like to find something sized for them.

Also amazes me how different the Tilapia have grown, I still have some just under an inch long and others that are pushing 3 inches, I guess they must be the top of the class so to speak. Not sure how old they are either so I may or may not get a spawn before it gets cold.

I just hope I get a few large enough to eat before it cools off, just in case I do not get my indoor tanks up and running this year.

I have started feeding AM 400 in place of GFC. Do you think they will start to eat it ok.

It appears they prefer the GFC over the 400, but I was wanting them to get the higher protein in their diet.

Any ideas?

Mix them up and the fish oil in the AM will soak into the GFC. Soon they will like both.

Sounds like a plan and I have already mixed my GFC with 400, 500, and 600.

Do you think any of these feeds would have much benefit over the other on a short term basis, like 1-3 months?

Yes but it depends on the fish.

From my presentation at PB IV � Fish Nutrition � Applied Science to Small Waters

Bioenergetics is the subject of a field of biochemistry that concerns energy flow and transformation through living systems.

Growth, development and metabolism are some of the central phenomena in the study of biological organisms. The role of energy is fundamental to such biological processes. The ability to harness energy from a variety of metabolic pathways is a property of all living organisms. Life is dependent on energy transformations; living organisms survive because of exchange of energy within and without.

Living organisms obtain energy from organic and inorganic materials. For example, lithotrophs can oxidize minerals . In photosynthesis, autotrophs can produce ATP using light energy. Heterotrophs (including fish) must consume organic compounds. These are mostly carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The amount of energy actually obtained by the organism is lower than the amount present in the food; there are losses in digestion, metabolism, and thermogenesis.

Energy Budget ---- Inputs = Outputs + Growth


Because fish growth often is limited by food availability, supplemental feeding is a logical tool to improve the condition of fish in small impoundments as the energy cost for bluegill to feed on pellets is small relative to the high caloric intake, which can be 4-5 times greater than those fed natural foods (Schalles and Wissing 1976). Substantial increases in the standing stock of bluegill in ponds that receive pellet feed have been recorded (Schmittou 1969) and, in lakes, pellet feeding has been found to increase the number of large bluegills (Nail and Powell 1975).

These results indicate that total fish production and production of bluegill were each increased approximately 75 to 80% by supplemental feeding in 19 months after stocking (Schmittou 1967)

Previous studies demonstrated that feed in excess of 10 pounds per acre per day in bluegill ponds was not utilized. Some accumulated and decomposed, thus depleting the supply of dissolved oxygen which resulted in fish kills (Schmittou 1967) .

the rate of growth of sunfish can be increased by short-circuiting the food cycle, thereby producing harvestable size sunfish in a shorter period of time than would occur under natural conditions (Carnes 1966).

The pellet size should be approximately 20-30% of the size of the fish species mouth gape. Feeding too small a pellet results in inefficient feeding because more energy is used in finding and eating more pellets. Conversely, pellets that are too large will depress feeding and, in the extreme, cause choking. Select the largest sized feed the fish will actively eat. Addition of supplemental pelleted feed did not contribute to the rate of growth of young shad, but did increase the growth and spawning frequency of adults.



Here is more:

� The immense variety of cultured finfish species hampers efforts to simplify production industry wide. Approximately 170 taxa are currently cultured, including carnivores, herbivores, planktivores, and omnivores, each posing its own set of nutritional demands .

� Fish meal has proven to be an excellent dietary protein source for finfish, leading to its description as an ��ideal protein.�� The ideal protein concept is based on the premise that if the amino acid profile of the feed mimics the whole-body amino acid profile of the animal being fed, protein utilization and growth should be maximized

� Lipids, fatty acids, and their derivatives play a role in virtually every physiological process that occurs and for this reason dietary lipid composition and content represent a massive sector of overall nutrition. Nowhere is this more true than in finfish nutrition where lipid can exceed protein in the body composition of finfish, a testament to the physiological and energetic importance of this nutrient class (Tocher2003). Aside from physiological importance, lipids are indispensable energy sources, especially for finfish, which are not well-adapted to carbohydrate utilization.

� Dietary protein and energy must be kept in proper balance because a deficiency or excess of dietary energy can reduce growth rates. Fish fed diets deficient in energy will metabolize more expensive dietary protein to meet energy requirements. Excess dietary energy can decrease protein intake and suppress growth.

� finfish do not require carbohydrates in their diet, � complex carbohydrates cannot be digested and utilized efficiently by most finfish species. A general dichotomy exists in the carbohydrate digestive ability of warmwater omnivores and herbivores versus the inability of coolwater and coldwater carnivores, which lack the appropriate function necessary for digestion of carbohydrates.

� For this reason, diets fed to these fish rarely contain more than 20% complex carbohydrate

� Conversely, warmwater omnivores or herbivores (e.g., channel catfish, tilapia, common carp, and white sturgeon) adapt well to diets containing as much as 40% dietary carbohydrate .

� Although vitamins and minerals are required in minute amounts compared with protein, lipid, and so forth, they are critically important, � Every micronutrient has a deficiency disease associated with it, the effects of which are sometimes irreversible or fatal. For a few vitamins and most minerals, excess can be equally detrimental, resulting in toxicity.