Ive got about a dozen Talapia in my water garden in Houston and only 2 have gone belly up from the cold water last November. I also saw several dozen scattered about my pond in Tyler county , east Tx last November as well. Has anyone else in East Texas seen a Talapia fish kill? This winter has been so mild I wonder if some of population are going to make it.

I did...a 17 acre lake near Edom, Texas, just northwest of Tyler. It was a week or so after that three day cold snap in November, when water temps didn't rise above freezing for that period. Water temps dropped into the 40's for a short time, and tilapia as big as six pounds each perished. We electrofished the lake, retrieved several of the dead tilapia, weighed and measured them, then released them, so my boat wouldn't stink.
Water was extremely clear, and the fish were laying on the bottom, in six to eight feet of water.

I bet that would be a real nitrogen overload for a pond. To be 6 lbs. some must have survived the previous winter. What did the rest of the pond reveal ? Were the other fish forage populations reduced by capacity constraints ?

There really weren't that many dead tilapia. We saw forty or fifty, total, over 17 acres. These were fish stocked last spring, original average weight of two pounds each. They were fed all spring and summer. Lots of babies were born, but we didn't see one baby tilapia during the electrofishing expedition. I expected that. As tilapia begin 'dealing' with cold, they become sluggish. The bass we electrofished in that lake looked like a deputy sheriff. They had gorged on sluggish tilapia. Baby bluegill were in hiding, in dense shoreline cover. Adult bluegill were holding tight to dense shoreline cover, and a dock, and standing cover out in the lake. Bass were mostly suspended, in water 6 to 8 feet, so electrofishing many of them wasn't easy, since our boat pushes current down to six feet. But, we got a good enough sample to tell the landowner what was going on. There were no capacity constraints for this pond, or we would have seen lots of baby tilapia dead, too. The goal was to supplement the natural food chain, not overwhelm it. And, it appears, that's what happened.

Thanks for the info Bob. The key to this was the tilapia were put in at 2 lbs. I was afraid that they had become able to survive (over winter) which would put a real kink in the theory of tilapia as one of several species in a combined forage fish pond.

Year-round tilapia would be kind of scary (in any of the pond types we normally work with), given their growth and reproductive capabilities.

OTOH, maybe they would be just what the doctor ordered for predator species that are frequently thought of as too big/efficient for small waters - Flatheads, Northern Pike, ???

Theo :

My first concern was carrying capacity , DO and the subsequent fish kill.

In my neighborhood tilapia live and multiply year round. In some of the larger ponds there is talk of 6 pounders but, I have seen none over 3 so far. There are so many natural predators that just their survival is an ordeal. I am struggling to maintain them in my small pond and my water temps are over 80 24/365. In late October heavy rains filled then overflowed my pond. During the initial overflowing a number of small tilapia were washed into a closed canal system abutting the pond so maybe I will get to see how they fair in the wild. I would be interested in hearing from some one who has had them year round for several years, maybe in south Texas or southern Florida.

I saw a die off for the first time in two years of Tilapia to a greater degree than Bob saw when the temps got real low and stayed below freezing for a couple of days and the water temp got to cold for them. I wrote more about before. I had several hundred of them die.

Rad, I had several that where in the 5 & 6lb range. What natural predators do you have?

Water temps have reached back over 60 degrees and have seen several spawns of tilapia. I had all survive last winter and should always have some survive the winters at my place.

Any suggestions on what predator I can stock that can take the larger tilapias?

Bob, I'm in Tyler county. Do you have access to 1-2 lb. Talapia? I was hopping to avoid them being an expensive bass snack when I stock them!!

LakeL,

Contact Ken Hale at Boatcycle (in Henderson)...he can supply you all the tilapia you want, any size you want. Ken's number is 800.333.9154.

FYI...He is a Pond Boss advertiser. His ad is on page 15 of the Jan/Fed issue.

LakeL, we may grade a few of these larger fish for you, depending on how many lbs you are looking for. I just don't want to get rid to too many of my good broodstock. I could do up to 10 lbs if you like.

Thanks for the info. guys. Todd I was hoping to go about 120 pounds (10lbs/acre)but with the lack of rain and my pond only half full..........I'll have to wait and pray for rain. I'm hoping to stock fish large enough to avoid my LMB from 14-17 inches.