Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations over-wintering Tilapia indoors

I am going to experiment with this. I got some of Rex's Tilapia this year and they are doing very well. Probably over 500 between 2-4" swimming around in 1/2 acre pond. Started with 17 that averaged 3/4lb. My plan is to get a 150 gal plastic tank and a good air pump and a couple of 10" air stones on the bottom. Will be in the basement with constant cool temp of around 62 degrees. I plan on putting around 60 3" Tilapia in around mid-October. I'll feed pellets and occasionally rotate in some fresh water and mabe a complete cleaning half way through. I'm in Ohio so should be able to re-stock in late April-early May. I figure the cool water temp will keep them from growing fast. Any input/advice on this project will be appreciated. Thanks Jeff

Overwintering tilapia in the house at 62F will be IMO tricky. I tried that in a greenhouse with 100 YOY blues where the water temp especially at night was at 57F-60F and all were dead by Christmas (Oct to Dec). Rex and I think the continually cooler water lead to stress problems which lead to fungal problems, which lead to them gradually dying.
Whereas another local guy I know, the same year kept YOY blue tilapia in his basement in two 30 gal aquariums. He lost about 2-4 fish total. This is where I got my stock for the above killing spree. His blues were not eating and growing much at 70F so he added a heater, boosted the water temp to 80F, and feeding and growth dramatically increased. At 80F, the fish were always ready to eat. Water fouling rate increased. He aerated and did water changes once every two weeks and then as the fish got to Apr-May water changes each week. This will be the third winter that he has overwintered some tilapia. By time to restock in late May, he can get them to 4"-8" depending on starting size, crowding, and sex of the fish.

Thanks for the reply Bill, great info. So it seems like the big variable is water temp. I believe I will be able to control that easy enough. Just curious...do you know how many fish he is able to keep in a 30 gal aquarium? Thanks Jeff