EWEST,
While out mowing pastures in 100 deg temps, I wondered about your warning to Woody on ceasing fertilization in relation to him also adding Tilapia.
To wit, do you know that the addition of Tilapia will not offset completely or at least minimize to some degree the impacts to predator fish by stopping fertilization?
In the carrying capacity you cited (forage fish per acre with and without fert.), does that also account for a forage fish which takes its feed from bottom mass and vegetation as opposed to plankton?
Earlier in this thread, I referenced scientific data that shows that Tilapia can produce 2700 pounds per acre without supplemental feeding. Granted that may be in an optimum environment, but, can it not be possible that in a regular natural pond environment, Tilapia can indeed compensate for artificial feeding and fertilizers? That is the basis for my experiment...that and the need to improve LMB aggressive behavior.
The pond that I'm experimenting in has no added benefit of cattle "enrichment". No source of added fertilization, natural or otherwise, is available at all. That is why I believe it will be a good test against my hypothesis.
****Once again, to remind others, this is a discussion about ideas, about experiments, about a hypothesis which is yet unproven. It is not as they say "tried and true", but perhaps may lead to something which can begin to answer valid questions regarding the behavior of LMB and the need for feeding and fertilizers.****
Thank you, EWEST, for this discussion. It is what I was hoping for when I made the original post....a dialogue on ideas and concepts.
