Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Tilapia quality and failure rates.

I am on my 3rd year of stocking Tilapia and I have noticed a steady decline in the quality of fish year over year. The first year I only had 4-5 floaters out of 70lbs total. 35lbs on two separate occasions. The 2nd year I had 30 floaters out of 75lbs stocked at one time. I felt this number was a little excessive considering the claimed typical failure rate of 2%. This year I purchased 75lbs again (I intended on buying 100lbs but the growers prices have jumped to $13 dollars a pound!) and had 60+ floaters and several more fish barely alive missing eyes and other serious issues. I called the grower immediately and was refunded for 15lbs. Call me a glutton for punishment but I later purchased an additional 5lbs a month later with 25 fish in the bag 6 dead and 3-5 more I'm positive didn't make it very long.

Ultimately this has left me quite a bit short of my stocking goals this year and I am currently looking for another grower.

Is this a excessive failure rate or did I have exceptional luck the 1st year and it spoiled me to have to high of expectations? Also has anyone else seen prices jump 3 dollars a pound on Tilapia this year?

I'm in Deep East Texas for reference.

I JWM I, I won't ask about your supplier but I am hearing stories about poor quality tilapia from feed stores and increased prices, but no personal experience.

I have been very fortunate in having more than 10 year sucessful tilapia program with very high quality Mozambique tilapia and fair prices from Overton Fisheries in Buffalo Texas.
I have no business connection with them - only a satisfied customer.
George Glazener

Yeah I definitely don't want to sling mud towards anyone's business since they have bought back the estimated weight on the fish that have died. I may have just had bad luck the last couple of times, stranger things have happened.

I stay away from the no name fish truck at the feed store outfits.

My comment is directed at prices. I was shocked when I talked to my supplier this late winter. Their prices to me increased by 50%. They said that increased demand for the fish is requiring them to grow them faster, which requires warmer water during the winter, which means they have to use more gas/electric to heat the water.

I can't give you a solid answer on this, BUT, in the food fish industry, a 20% loss is anticipated in intensive culture plantings over a span of 1" fingerlings to 1.5 pound adults. That rate would be totally unacceptable for pond stocking! Personally, I expect between 1-5% depending on the density and time in a tank for the fish. I also supply more fish than I estimate will have issues and TELL my customers this is a possibility, and why! Tilapia have wickedly sharp dorsal spines and are very evasive fish! Hauling, seining and any handling causes them to go crazy trying to escape, and in the chaos, they cause damage to each other. Now as a testament to the toughness of Tilapia, they recover from some pretty serious injuries as quickly as those same injuries would kill most other fish species.

While there are certainly some suppliers out there that could not care less about what they sell, or their customers, I have to think most long standing suppliers DO care, very much!

Personally, I had to use chlorinated "city" water last year to refresh haul water. I carry the chemicals that are safe for this to dechlorinate, but the extra high chlorine content and sheer volume of a water tower's Bulk supply hose blinded over 1000 pounds of Tilapia I was hauling. I was well into the run, informed my clients scheduled of what had happened, and every one chose to accept the fish as a "free", extra forage till I could return with replacements. Life as a fish hauler would be MUCH easier if fish, weather, heat and an almost infinite number of variables would cooperate, but they refuse. The better suppliers minimize every risk and will try to find a cause for ANY reported loss of fish, but AFTER, immediately, taking care of their customer, and regardless of any fault or cause! I also follow up throughout the year with my clients progress.

Thanks for the info everyone. I thought that these numbers were beyond excessive. I have been purchasing my Tilapia directly from the supplier and they are one of the older outfits in the game. When I transport them in the 5 lb boxes it is at the very most an hour between the time they are loaded, transported and then released into my pond. This includes floating the bags for a couple of minutes unopened then opened for the recommended adjustment period.

I would like to stock some pretty serious numbers every spring and with the quality issues and steadily rising prices I may start raising them for myself.

Strictly addressing fish mortality from suppliers.

In more a than 10 years of dealing with Overton fisheries, I have NEVER lost a fish produced or grown out by OVERTON Fisheries that I am aware of!

The only morts ever were 6 inch HSB that were delivered in February
2005, obviously "holdover" fish delivered from Arkansas by a fish hauler.
They likely had been held in raceways and developed fungus and seriously loss occurred for our fish. Overton lost many of his as well.

He tried to reimburse me but I would not accept because he took a risk by ordering these fish at my insistence. That loss began a successful grow out program of HSB fry that resulted in present endorsement by TP&WL of stocking Hybrid Striped Bass in Texas farm ponds.

Back to tilapia - I have NEVER lost an Overton tilapia in more than 10 years tilapia experience.
George Glazener

I am not sure I have lost a more than just a few either. It would be nice if I were closer to Overton’s or Rainman passed by me on his routes to try some other Tilapia as I am not sure what I will be getting this year if I even get to it. At any rate I like to add them to my ponds and always hold few over in a tank to grow out for the kids and harvest when it gets too cold to heat them anymore.

They are fun to have and easy to take care of.