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#521312 05/20/20 07:45 PM
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I contacted my local fish supplier here in Central Ohio and ordered 8 pounds of tilapia to help w FA. Picked them up on Saturday morning. Floated them for 30 minutes before stocking them.

By that evening I found several dying tilapia. By Sunday I had collected a total of 10 dead. As of today, I’ve collected a total of 2 pounds of dead tilapia. No other fish species found dead and the perch are feeding well as of tonight.

Fish supplier has agreed to replace 2 pounds. My questions are 1.) why did this happen? and 2) if I found 2 pounds, how many others are likely dead that didn’t float?

Water only has about 12” of visibility right now due to the 4” of rain we’ve had the past couple days making it difficult to see what’s actually swimming in the shallows.

bcraley #521338 05/21/20 04:38 AM
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Hard to tell how many died but, most dead fish sink.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
bcraley #521350 05/21/20 08:23 AM
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part of acclimation is diluting the water in the transport bags with pond water. The chemistry in the pond might be very different than the transport water. So after the temp is pretty close, add 50% of the volume (each addition) of pond water into the bag in 10 min increments. Do that 3 or 4 times before releasing.


It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


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bcraley #521359 05/21/20 09:22 AM
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bcraley - you are on a learning curve using tilapia. Tilapia are tropical fish. Just because they die around 45F-50F does not mean you can "mess" with them when water is cool. They lose their scales easily when handled during netting and transport. Our Ohio pond water is 60F or maybe 65F depending on Ohio location. Evenings are cool and ponds cool at night. The tilapia that you bought probably never experienced any temps below 70 or 75F. My experience is always stock and handle tilapia when water is consistently 70F or above or you will likely experience what you describe above. When tilapia die especially in fall they 'almost' always sink at least that is how they behave in a cage. A few days later some will float. Maybe 10-15% dead ones will float. It depends. Larger bass eat a lot if not all of the stocked tilapia that struggle with stress or survival especially the tilapia 6" and less. A 6" tilapia is not very wide at 1.5". LMB of 11"-12" gape is around 1.5".

Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/21/20 09:52 AM.

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Like Bill said, darn near all the Tilapia that have died in my ponds never floated up.

Originally Posted by Dave Davidson1
Hard to tell how many died but, most dead fish sink.
Honest to God, DD, the first time I read that it said "most dead fish stink", and I thought "yeah, eventually."


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
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Bill Cody #521373 05/21/20 01:33 PM
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Bill - I'm on a learning curve for what seems like everything with this puddle and I'm at the very bottom of the curve! :-)

No LMB ... and I'm certain my 11" SMB likely aren't eating the dying ones. Your description of scale loss is exactly what I noticed. And it sounds like I need to assume that the vast majority, if not all are dead. Nothing like throwing a few hundred dollars out the window!

bcraley #521380 05/21/20 03:50 PM
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I was thinking about putting in Tilapia to control ceratophyllum that is getting out of control in my 3 acre pond,.... does anyone have any experience with this? Please advise.

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TP do well in our climate, at least up until winter. I know they prefer algae, but in a pinch will eat a few other things, including fish food. Certatophyllum is a new one on me, maybe the experts can help you there.

Last edited by anthropic; 05/21/20 04:17 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




anthropic #521382 05/21/20 04:16 PM
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That’s coontail isn’t it ? If it is don’t think tilapia eat that , not 100% sure though

Last edited by Pat Williamson; 05/21/20 04:19 PM. Reason: Misnamed
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Maybe grass carp would be better.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




anthropic #521384 05/21/20 04:20 PM
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Think so

bcraley #521399 05/21/20 09:13 PM
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Coontail is too coarse of a textured plant for tilapia to consume a lot of it. If all other delicate plants are gone they might eat some of the leaves off the coontail stem.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/21/20 09:18 PM.

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bcraley #521652 05/26/20 11:58 AM
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As an update, now that my water has cleared from the 6 inches of rain. I have 20-30 tilapia alive and doing well from my initial 8 pound stocking. Supplier has agreed to replace 3 pounds. I suspect I lost closer to 4+ pounds, but... I'll roll with it.


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