I have a two acre pond and spot treated it with granular cutrine which worked very well. Now I want to introduce some Tilapia for the rest of the season. Anyone know where I can still get them. I live in Sulphur Springs TX. Thanks

pondrookie,

A while back, TEXAS715 posted this great link:

http://www.texasaquaculture.org/id86.htm

I buy mine from Todd Overton, Overtonfisheries but someone recently posted that he had ran out....don't know if he is expecting more or not.

You might also try Trent Lewis at 214-402-4297 or trent@pondmedics.com. He is in Prosper, just North of Dallas.

Thanks for the plug, Dave. It's that time of the year...no more Tilapia. We help Ken Hale with Boatcycle distribute his Tilapia in the north/west Texas and South Oklahoma region. The last time I checked, Ken was out of mid-size fish and all he had was large fish. That was several weeks ago and I'm sure he's out of fish by now.

To all that are interested in Tilapia...make sure you contact your local supplier in Jan/Feb so they can reserve you some fish and get you on the first delivery route the beginning of April.

Trent,

I just have to say, I love your signature, man!

Thanks! I saw that quote in a informational marker at a lake in the Mt. Rainer national park. I thought it was awesome, so I pulled out my Treo and made a note of it.

Meadowlark,

I'm not a tree hugger or fish hugger, but I thought tilapia were highly restricted. What if they got into local rivers and streams? Couldn't they have a serious impact on native species of fish, plants, and even river or lake bottoms?

Don't get me wrong, I love tilapia. (especially fried!) There's nothing I would like better than to have lots of them in my new pond with LMB, BG, white and/or black crappie, and redear sunfish. But I've heard they compete by outbreeding other species.

Henneke fish farms out of Halletsville had them about three weeks ago. I don't have his number at this second, but a web search under that name will bring it up. I bought some from them and it is about half way btween San Antonio and Houston. If you have trouble I will be watching and will get the number for you.

By the way pondrookie I manage four tanks for my cousin near Union Valley, west of Nixon, so you and I are in the same area. E-mail me anytime you want to at mdonovan@satx.rr.com. Been trying to figure all this out for quite a few years and like input from local folks.

Bob, for most of us, Tilapia overpopulation is not a potential problem. The fish all die each winter and must be restocked in the late spring annually. Local legend is that the small Tilapia do not die, only the large ones, but even those who tell this tale know the truth. The Tilapia get sluggish from the cold long before they would die from it. Slow-swimming small Tilapia become a favored item in the menu of the bass, and only the largest ones, too big to eat, are left alone long enough to float up on your shore.

As for competing with other fish, adult Tilapia are mostly vegetarians, feeding on plants, including at least some varieties of filamentous algae, and filter feeding on plankton. They will consume invertebrates who practically crawl into their mouths, but eat few if any fish. (We have had several caught on worms and crickets being fished on the bottom for bluegill.)

In commercial operations in tropical climates, the biggest problem is that since size offers no advantage in feeding and because reproduction is relatively efficient, Tilapia ponds become filled with many small fish and no large ones of commercial size.

My Tilapia, by the way, are entering their first spawn and tractor-tire sized beds are scattered in the shallows.
Lou

Lou,

Thanks for the explanation. Do you think I could expect the tilapia to be practically "invisible" in my LMB, BG, redear sunfish, and crappie pond? In other words, would they control the vegetation without muddying the water and interfering little with the above sport fish?

Bob,
If it is of any help, where I live tilapia live and breed year round. Tilapia are difficult to catch with the only real preditors being catfish and man and they are the cheapest fish to buy at the hatcheries so they wind up in every waterhole. But, like everything else they are part of the food chain and as such are kept in check by bugs, birds and big fish.
When the ponds around here start drying up during the hot season the locals clean out almost all of the fish with cast nets and their catches are always a mix.