Pond Boss
Posted By: Snipe Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 06:22 AM
Don't know how many folks here try and over winter Tilapia but this is my 3rd year trying to keep some fry I catch out of pond before fall and always add some I buy later on.
esshup and I have been communicating a bit about my growth rates through winter and with some recent observations, I'm having a hard time deciding if these are beneficial or not for a couple of reasons..
#1, I started these at about .75" and try to feed just enough to get them through winter for water quality reasons and obviously to slow the growth rates. THAT DON'T WORK..
These fish are now (Males) pushing 4" and I just realized the 11 Bluntnose minnows i had in this tank are GONE. These were good sized adults. I feed them chichlid pellets and I'm not starving them so I don't know why they are as aggressive as they are but they are.
Now I also see they have pulled one of the claws off of my 3"+ Craw in there, I always see them picking on him and as they get bigger, well.. there ain't no stopping them.
I open the lid to feed and now I have 1-2 that always fly out onto the carpet before I even put any feed in the tank!
They are a cross between a LMB, NP, GC and a piranha with a little bit of common carp mixed in. They are akin to "cousin Ed"...
Is anyone else keeping any of these through winter in a situation where you can really observe behavior???
I really have to wonder how these interact in a real-world pond situation. I strongly believe they are more of a predator than we may assume..??
Posted By: Theo Gallus Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 12:03 PM
I catch several Tilapia on worms or prepared baits every year. I think they count as opportunistic omnivores.
Posted By: highflyer Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 12:31 PM
Tilapitopia 5.0 is all but complete. It is filled with water and circulating. I have a few tweaks to go, but I will be getting some tilapia next Saturday. I have over wintered Tilapia four years in a row. I find it to be worth it. Last year, I did not do Tilapia as we were building T5.0. Now it's time to rumble!!!
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 01:09 PM
Snipe, I overwintered a male and 5 females one winter and I had to separate the male from the girls because he was so aggressive and would attack the females. My plan was to raise some young but that did not happen. they did survive and I added them to the pond. pretty much a waste of time for me.

Brian, I am guessing you are going to add your new Tp to your indoor system. My water temps are running 48 to 52 so I am guessing yours might be too cool for now?
Posted By: Theo Gallus Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 01:53 PM
Originally Posted by highflyer
Tilapitopia
Okay, LOL.
Posted By: Snakebite Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 02:07 PM
I`ve overwintered brood sized tilapia 3"-6" starting out. They make it into the 7"-10" range by the time spring rolls around. They are not too aggressive and I separate the males and females a few times during that period to give the females a rest from the males advances.

What I do notice is the fry and fingerlings are way more aggressive than the brood brought in from the ponds. When the fingerlings near 1-2" they will jump out of the water trying to be first to get to the food.
Posted By: anthropic Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 02:54 PM
I added larger TP too soon, before LMB, back in spring 2016. TP found little algae to eat, so wiped out my FHM. My initial Florida LMB stocking stunted due to lack of forage, I had to do take quick corrective action.

Yeah, they are omnivores when they have to be.
Posted By: Snipe Re: Tilapia observation - 02/11/21 03:56 PM
Makes me want to put a 12-14" pike in there..Their like bad kids..
My luck there'd be pike bones left..
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