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..??
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..??