Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Tilapia

SO, I went to the park down the street from my house with the cast net and caught about a dozen nice tilpia. They all seem to be very tight-lipped, holding the mouths closed tightly. My thoughts are they are females and they are holding young in their mouths.
I am trying to get Tilapia started in my pond as a forage fish for large predators I have not stocked yet.

Any chance they are holding young? ....

ANY Thoughts.......

Yep Its confirmed, I saw a few little fry swimming in the cooler. On my way to stock them. Got a few more this morning...
Should speed things along stocking adults with a mouths full of babies...Instant reproduction....

Very cool...do they grow wild there I assume? Are they considered invasive and do they experience any die off during the Winter?

We had a 30 year record cold that killed native fish like snook few years ago...
there was a die off of some in the state. Plenty left, either the more cold tolerant ones or the smart ones able to find a warm spott.
These fish have been in this lake 20 years that I know of.....

I think one of them must have aborted the babies in the coler as I had a little school of them swimming around in the cooler. "Several houndred I would say". I scopped a dozon or so into a bucket and left it out to see if they will grow by eating the algea off the sides. If I had the set up I would have tried to save them all and transplanted later....

wow i did not know Tilapia could survive year-around anywhere in the US except maybe like in a desert. that's interesting Bobby. thanks

We had such a mild winter they survivied in piedmont of SC this year.

Tilapia survival in the more southern waters will unlikely be an issue since this winter was so uncommon, there is no spawning due to a short photoperiod, and the vast majority of water caused tilapia lethargy/predation or caused secondary infection mortality...surviving tilapia numbrs were likely small.

We always get a decent number of hold over if the water stays above 57 degrees. I see it has a plus..as it means I have some 4 - 5 lbers. that will be spawning as soon as the water reaches the mid to high 70's.

Rex,

Will you be coming through Oklahoma this year, or at least getting close by? If so do you happen to have some dates set so I can check my schedule?

Thanks

hey rex, i saw i missed your last trip through ohio, will you be coming through again any time soon?

thanks!

Tilapia for algae management were the topic of a newspaper Toledo Blade article from Northwest Ohio. PB Forum member Rex Rains was quoted in the article.
http://www.toledoblade.com/MattMarkey/2012/05/18/Blue-tilapia-stars-in-pond-algae-war.html

Keith, I am making at least 2 more tilapia runs in Ohio. Feel free to PM or phone me anytime.

thanks rex, i'm getting some perch this weekend from shelby fish farm so will get some of yours from them

So how have these tilapia done in the bucket, just wondering if you were able to keep them alive? Have you noticed any others spawning in your pond yet?

Funny you asked I was thinking of taking a picture of them. They really are tough little boogers. They seem to be growing and doing well. I literally have them in a bucket with out being aerated and no water changes, nothing. The water has turned green and I see no mosquito lava like I normally do in a bucket left unattended for that long. (Eating them I think)
It even is in full sun part of the day and gets a bit hot. I recently moved it as I though that might be an issue. I am thinking the green water is an algae bloom using the nutrients from them pooping and in turn they are eating the algae a pooping more. I�m sure as they start to get size on them the five gallon bucket will not be suitable. Ill try to take a picture of them this weekend.

I have not seen any spawning around the pond, I think they might have been at the end of spawning.

Some pics would be nice. How many did you end up stocking in the pond and do you plan on putting in any more?

I put about a dozen full grown adults in the pond, Half acre. I might put more , no real predators yet in the pond yet so Im hoping they will just reproduce quickly. I wish I had kept all the fry that got purged(It was several hundred). As easy as they are to keep I could have gotten them just big enough so the GAMs could not eat them and release them. Hoping a couple of the adults still had eggs or fry holding in their mouths.

I stocked a pond Tuesday and the owner called Wednesday to tell me he already has larger fish building/guarding nests.

That is just neat, what size were the larger fish if you recall? What size pond was it you stocked and how many fish did you stock?

Thanks

All were eggs on 12/17 and stocked as fry into the growout ponds...some were 1.75 pounds when seined on 5/1....most are in the 8-10 inch range...they grew faster than desired this year.

Maybe warmer water due to the milder winter?

Rainman, I have a friend that will not believe the growth rate of Blue Talipia. Does your grower or you have any pictures of month to month growth rates?

no, but I hauled a fish this spring that had been a leftover form last year topping 7 pounds...again, no pic.

Here are some pictures of my Tilapia if anyone can tell me what type they are and if they are male or female, I would appreciate it.