Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose What now : Tilapia

I just put 50 4-6" Blue Talapia in a 1/4 acre pond.What kind of growth rate can I expect?What size do they start to reproduce?What kind of numbers can be expected?I am in southeastern Ohio.Thank you...Joe

What else and the sizes that are in this pond?

Since you note below the TP came from Jones Fish Farm, it is known they get most of their tilapia from a food fish grower which means that most of their TP are males thus little if any reproduction. This means that one should stock a few more pounds of mostly male TP compared to if the TP are of good mixed sex toward 50M:50F. Lack of reproduction means fewer TP fish eating eating algae.

HBG up to 9",BG up to 8",HSB upto 16",and 5 LMB under 13".There are alot of FHM also.....Joe

bowjo, they are in the spawning range now. Your HSB and LMB may snag a few of them but as soon as a couple spawns happens, your predators won't be able to keep up with them. Tilapia are lightning quick in warm waters (like Ohio's now). Even the babies are quicker than the eye.

They will make a nest on the pond bottom just like your LMB and gills do. Just check every day or two.

At what size do they start spawning?

Approx. 4-6 inches.

When I fed my fish tonight the Tilapia were right there tooth and nail with the other fish.I was suprised to see them compete for fishfood with so much larger fish....Joe

Do talapia eat fish food when there's plenty of other forage (FA) in a pond.. Will feeding impact their consumption of FA..? Just curious sorry to hijack your thread..

Quit feeding your fish for a week or longer to let your Tilapia find a new food source(as in FA). If the water temperature and other conditions are right, these little food bandits will out eat and starve your other fish(especially if they are getting food pellets). So put your other fish on a diet for a week or two. They will live. Those Tilapia are built to survive. Their gills can even siphon the (I can't think of the word right now) green stuff out of your pond water and survive on it.

My Tilapia are growing,but no sign of new fry yet.I really don't know if I will see the fry or how long until I can expect to see some.I have alot of FHM fry around,will I be able to tell the Tilapia from the others?I am amazed how visible the adult Tilapia are you can almost always see them all around the pond....Joe

Tilapia are indeed pellet hogs, BUT, you get far more bang for your feed-buck when they eat pellets. Feeding is generally done to produce bigger bluegill, faster, as bass forage...Tilapia convert feed at 1.2:1 and BG at 4:1 and get eaten instead of the BG.

Tilapia eating pellets won't make a noticable change in algae control since tilapia eat constantly...as soon as the feed is swallowed, they are back to work browsing on algae.

It has been about six weeks since I introduced the Tilapia.Should I be seeing the fry yet?I am starting to wonder if they will reproduce in my pond.The adults are all doing well and growing.My algea and watermeal is just getting worse everyday.How big would the fry be now and could I tell them apart from the FHM ? Do you guys think I am worrying a little to soon?....Joe

Rainman is absolutely correct. I've been dragging everybody to my feeders to watch the CNBG eat. Boy was I surprised when my Tilapia, huge Tilapia, where eating 4 and 5 pellets of AM 500 per bite.

They wandered off after the pellets were gone and hopefully resumed foraging.

Joe is it possible all or most of your Tilapia are the same sex?
Did you get them from a reputable supplier?

FIH I noticed yesterday the Tilapia have
really started to make a dent in the filamentous algae.

Zep mine too. I found Tilapia fry in a small cove last week. I can't really describe them, but they were different than the CNBG fry swimming with them. I should have caught and CPR'ed them for comparison.

What caught my attention was that the small cove had absolutely no FA in it. Other than American Pond weed, it was perfectly clean.

I stocked the Tilapia several months earlier than normal this year due to the mild winter, so I'm not sure if this is the 1st or 2nd spawn.

I bought these Tilapia at Jones Hatchery in Cincinati.They said they would be reproducing immediatly at stocking...Joe

FIH I went with about 25 lbs of Tilapia per acre this first time(95lbs total). But the first batch were mainly all pretty small I bought from a feed store in Canton. So I'm not sure if many of them made it. My second round were larger, much healthier looking Tilapia from Overton's. How many pounds of Tilapia did you stock per acre? I may go 40-50 lbs per acre next year.

Zep, I usually stock 15 pounds per acre, and it's purely a financial decision. I would love to stock more, but a budget is a budget. Between chemicals, fish food, stocker fish and typical farm stuff, I'm at my self imposed limit. It would be cheaper for me to live at the 4 Seasons than try to get 3 ponds running, but not near as much fun.

LOL@FIH....I hear ya.
Plus I think your pond is larger than mine.
It adds up quick.
I am currently saving pennies for feeders & aeration.

I have not seen any fry in the ponds I put my Tilapia in but have them spawning like crazy in the tank I have at home.

I just hope all of my females are not in my tank with a few males and all males in the pond. We just randomly put them in the ponds but when you only add 20 fish or so you may not get both sexes.

I can not tell them apart so who knows.

Has anybody had any luck with the Tilapia from Jones'.I have yet to see any reduction in watermeal or algea in my pond.I do see the adult Tilapia eating food with the other fish.I keep reading alot of success stories abou Tilapia.
For some reason they have done nothing for my pond.I guess you must have the right conditions for Tilapia to be effective.I don't know if I will waste my money next year.They are fun to watch,but have not helped my pond any.....Joe

I think it all depends on stocking density. I didn't see any visible reduction in algae in my pond until I hit the 40#/surface acre stocking density mark.

This year my ponds did not get any FA at least as of yet so not sure if they have kept it at bay or if it is due to turbid water. I have had issue each year and wanted to try them this year but no issue yet. I will be curious to see how the tilapia do in the ponds that are not fed

I replaced Tilapia in 16 ponds totalling 290 pounds (frree of charge) that were seeing no reproduction or algae control, yet stocked by my "competitor" mentioned...My biggest fear was seeing same sex and improper hybrids being used that caused dissatisfied customers to think ALL tilapia were a waste...all replacement stockings achieved control in 30 days or less.