Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Tilapia Eating Machines

So I got some tilapia fry last year and I've got them in a 100g rubbermaid tub to over winter them and grow them out for this year.

I'd been feeding them pellets, and they're growing nice. They're about 2 inches now. It's been interesting because if I don't feed them for a day they eat the algae that grows on the side of the tub. They just mouth the rubbermaid until it's the algae film is cleaned off.

I put some water hyacinth in with them to make sure it didn't die in the winter. (small pond and its controllable) It's been in there for a month or so, and no issues. It looked like the tilapia may have eaten some of the roots, but the plants were doing okay.

Then I go out of town for 4 days and they're not getting pellets. When I come home, all the water hyacinth is eaten up! Now that's not exactly a soft plant, and the fish aren't that big. These things are eating machines.

I threw in all sorts of old lettuce from our refrigerator at home in my tilapia tank.

Then I came back 4 days later.

It was gone without a trace. I had to do a double-take and think for sure if I actually put it in there.

They will eat most any veggie or fruit. We used to get scraps from the market and during that time they were easy to catch. Apparently conditioned to eat anything on the water. Cabbage and cucumbers were killer baits.

No wonder they taste so good, they eat the finest fresh vegetables around... HAHA

Aaron, I could/should have warned you about the water Hyacinth. Before you try to raise some Fatheads with them DON'T! They eat almost anything they can tear apart to get into their mouths. I HAD a stunted 3" CNBG that I took out of my show tank and added to the HEAVILY stocked Tilapia tank. Several Tilapia ganged up like Pirhanna and had it completely gone in a few hours.


On a side not Bruce, I bet your tilapia are a lot happier with the veggies than only getting fed every few days.

Humm.. wondering if 40 tilapia eating a BG would make a good video...??

Didn't think about it Aaron! Don't know if it would help sales either!

aaron's journey to the fringe of pond management....

I know Dave.. that was sacrilegious.. I should have said "eating a green sunfish"

Is that better?

Jeez Aaron! Now you'll get that nasty ole GSA shield on this thread too.

actually aaron yer post would have only been sacrilegious for those over at BigBG.com

but since you bring the mighty GSF into it.....



yer tilapia wouldnt have a chance

Ahh, the old GSF on a Boga grip pic.

Send me one of those DIED and we shall see!

That's a beauty DIED.... wondering how we can set up a cage match.

Tilapia are ghirly fish, real fish don't eat lettuce.




Oh and Aaron I see that Bob Lusk will be visiting you, congratulations!

Thanks Jeff.. should be a fun time with Bob.

I kinda agree on the 'real fish don't eat lettuce'.. I'll add that real fish don't float to the top of my pond and die when the water gets too cold... but I do love the damn things that keep my algae clear and my bass chubby.

I just needed to get the GSFA logo on my post.. maybe we should start a littlegreensunfish.com?

I thought of you the other day when I accidentally came across this guys blog post claiming to have a largemouth/bluegill hybrid... it looks amazingly like a GSF..

http://www.alvintung.com/blog/?p=16

HAHA largemouth x bluegill hybrid! Now that is funny...

AaronM, thanks for posting the link to that blog. That is the funniest thing I have read in a long time :D.

OH......MY.......GOSH!!!

That's the single funniest, stupidest thing I've seen on a fishing website in my life. (Wait a minute...isn't it me who just posted another blog about my life with Buddy Ebsen?)

AaronM has found a true classic.

That would be like a guy shooting a rabbit and claiming that he'd just shot the world's first kangaroo X dog hybrid.

Sorry Bruce kangaroodog

that is really funny as we sit on the throne of higher knowledge, but his logic is pretty good. no one has called him out yet.

that is a gorgeous fish that IMO leans heavily towards pure GSF pig. looks almost identical to those i caught in the neighbors ranch pond and originally stocked in my pond. probably similar pond conditions (lots of hungry underfed bass).

I thought for a brief moment about emailing them and telling them about GSF. Then I decided naw.

I think it's your duty to the Green Sunfish to straighten him out, JHAP.

I posted a comment on his blog a couple weeks ago that helped clarify his 'unique and special' fish as Lepomis Cyanellus... but the post say "Your comment is awaiting moderation."

Mine to is "awaiting moderation". I guess that explains why there are no corrections to his new hybrid......HE does the moderation.