TGW1, I agree with what was said about the HBCP being a competitor, but ONLY the F1 stocked. Almost all offspring will become snacks, but there may be a low number recruited. Rainbow trout in winter with Tilapia in the warmer months is proving to be an awesome combo in creating double digit bass, fast.
I think you could stock 300 HBCP without adversely affecting your CBLMB growth.
I have a question re Tilapia. Are they really much of a forage fish for bass?
I get where they eat unwanted vegetation and generally don't compete with LMB for forage. And maybe LMB will eat some smaller tilapia from time to time, and even some larger ones when temps cool. But is it really true that tilapia, where fairly common, constitute a major part of a LMB diet throughout the summer?
anthropic, if your pond is in LA and you do not want the state sterilizing it for you, don't even think about stocking them in your state.
In monoculture settings of unfed, non-aerated test ponds, (without predators), 10 pounds of Tilapia have repeatedly produced over 1000 pounds of fish in a single growing season.
Tilapia produce a LOT of forage. Most fry/fingerlings get eaten by other YOY predators (like LMB and BG) before reaching 2". But, that means those YOY grow faster, along with Tilapia, adding lots of "extra" forage for larger fish due to the Tilapia consuming/converting algae and other non-utilized nutrients, like detritus. Further, consuming the detritus, and oxygenating normally anoxic water improves overall water quality too. Tilapia are NOT a magic bullet in water management strategies, but they are one of the BFH's in the tool box!
