Pond Boss
Posted By: GOPACK Tilapia in today - 04/21/10 12:01 AM
My first tilapia ever went in today(pics to come) they were all 6-8 inchers 75 in all don't know how many pounds that is hoping at least 20lbs. All swimming good and went into the FA right where I want them. I cant wait to track their progress, I hope they are as good as advertised.
Posted By: jeffhasapond Re: Tilapia in today - 04/21/10 03:03 PM
Congratulations Gopack! Stocking fish is always a fun event!
Posted By: GOPACK Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 12:30 AM
When I got home this afternoon to check on my new fish I found a blue heron with a big white tilapia hanging out both sides of his mouth. I hope they wise up soon or there will be some fat birds around here.
Posted By: jakeb Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 12:37 AM
maybe that heron just got lucky, or maybe one or two did not take the transfer well. I would not worry yet.
Posted By: jakeb Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 12:39 AM
maybe that heron just got lucky, or maybe one or two did not take the transfer well. I would not worry yet.
Posted By: smokinlee Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 02:16 AM
I am new here and have maybe a .25 acre pond out by the garden.
I am just curious about the stocking of tilapia. Wasn't long ago most folks never heard of tilapia, and what I learned was that are a very deep water fish and someone figured out a way to harvest them. Is this pond stock a different breed or am I just mislead?.
Posted By: esshup Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 02:44 AM
smokinlee, Welcome!

There are a few different species of Tilapia stocked, in Texas, I believe you can only stock Mozambique. Here in Indiana, I am having Rex Rains, "Rainman" on here, deliver Blue Tilapia to my pond. TilapiaStockers Blues survive the cold the best, but they still die off during the winter. The Blues cannot survive less than 45° water. They provide a lot of forage for LMB, but the biggest reason that I'm putting them in my pond is because they eat Filamentous Algae (FA), which is usually what you see floating around on the top of the ponds in mats.
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: Tilapia in today - 04/22/10 03:24 AM
Michigan does not allow stocking of tilapia in open waters if I recall correctly. You may want to check with your DNR.
Posted By: smokinlee Re: Tilapia in today - 04/27/10 01:35 AM
OK Thanks for the Info on that. I'll do some checking on this. Thanks again.
Posted By: GOPACK Re: Tilapia in today - 04/27/10 02:47 PM
One observation that I have made is that I have a cage with some feed trained bass that I am tinkering with. My son threw a long stick in there and it eventually grew algae all over it.

I placed two of the tilapia in with the bass and within four days the stick was clean. So now every few days I add a little algae into the pen and sometimes you can watch them eat.
Posted By: esshup Re: Tilapia in today - 04/27/10 03:03 PM
HA! Last year I got some small Blues from Rainman, and put them in a 300 gallon stock tank to grow them bigger before releasing them in the pond. I grabbed a few branches that blew into the pond that were covered with FA and put them in the tank. I couldn't believe what I saw the next day, they looked like a skeleton. All the FA was cleaned off of them. That's when I realized what they would do in the pond.
Posted By: hang_loose Re: Tilapia in today - 05/11/10 03:08 AM
GOPACK, How is your pond looking now?
Posted By: GOPACK Re: Tilapia in today - 05/12/10 01:32 PM
So far I can't really tell a difference but it is still early i think @ 4 weeks

Lots of beds and it seems they chase each other all day. Maybe after the spawn the females will get hungry and eat more algae. They have to be eating something because some have grown significantly.

About half of my tilapia were light almost white in color. I have seen more herons and ospreys than normal. And thought I watched a snapping turtle stalking them but that may have been my imagination

One shallow corner of the pond has a big school around 25 fish but rarely see only six or seven around the rest of the pond

I enjoy watching them Its nice to stock something and still see them now and then

I guess time will tell if they survive and eat the algae or all get eaten by the birds
Posted By: Mike Miller Re: Tilapia in today - 05/13/10 09:15 PM
They are defintely at a disadvantage being white and sticking out like a sore thumb. What is fun is watching them with their young. They will open their mouth and all the little ones will swim into it. Then when they think the danger is gone, they come swimming back out. I know other fish do that, but with white fish it really makes it easy to watch.

I never noticed much in my pond the first time I stocked them, but I do not think I stocked enough. I am going with 50 pounds this year for my 1 acre pond. I want results and hopefully that will get it.
Posted By: MRHELLO Re: Tilapia in today - 05/13/10 10:27 PM
Can you stock Talapia in Oklahoma? Also how long does it take these to spawn and has anyone tried to eat one after they clean up all the FA. Just wondering how they taste.

thanks
Posted By: jakeb Re: Tilapia in today - 05/14/10 12:42 AM
Yes, I did two day ago as a matter of fact!
Posted By: Rainman Re: Tilapia in today - 05/14/10 03:55 AM
MRHELLO,

Blue Tilapia and Mozambique Tilapia become sexually mature at 11-12 weeks of age. Female 7-9 inch "stocker" fish will produce over 1000 offspring about every 3 weeks and Yes, they DO taste great after eating the FA. If you want to ensure no "off" flavor if you happen to have some of the nastier blue-green algaes, purge them by keeping them in clear water for 3 days with no feed.
Posted By: MRHELLO Re: Tilapia in today - 05/14/10 12:20 PM
I am new to Pond Stocking and Tilapia. What are the differences in each of them you mentioned and does one react better in Oklahoma?

What sizes do you sell and recommend?

What else do they feed on besides FA?


Are these a good choice for either a new pond or an established pond as a forage base?

How much could I expect one of these to grow say from June to October when the water will probably be cold enough to start killing them off?

What are some of the ways to harvest them before they all die off?
Posted By: jakeb Re: Tilapia in today - 05/14/10 04:07 PM
check here some of the info you need is present http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...6315#Post166315

they will eat just about anything by my understanding.
They would work best as forage base in established pond, becuase the stockers are most likely safe from predatation. They are a wonderful forage base but like anything are a tool to be used for a purpose.

You would not put them into an empty pond unless you wanted to harvest them for food or to transfer to anyother pond, or for weed and FA control. If you put them in an empty pond they will eventually die and you could have a big mess of dead fish. This does not seem to happen in established ponds b/c preadtors eat them as they die.

I know some have reported growth of 1 pound stockers in early May growing to 3+ pounds by November. They may not last that long for you in NE OK, depends year to year. Also would greatly depend on if you fed them fish food.

Harvest can be hard, some here know how to catch them. I cant speak to it until later this year. But I hear they dig under to escape seines and nets. Im sure others will help, you may want to start a new thread to get better response.
Posted By: MRHELLO Re: Tilapia in today - 05/17/10 06:51 PM
I was also wondering if the Tilapia eat up all the aglea, weeds, etc. Where will the minnows spawn and the frye hide?
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Tilapia in today - 05/18/10 10:53 AM
Tilapia seldom eat weeds.
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