Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Algae Problem

On my recommendation my neighbor ordered tilapia for his 2 acre pond to take care of the algae.(3mths ago)

I went by there today and 50% of his pond is covered in algae.

Why aren’t the tilapia eating it? He says he bought 200#’s.

Curious Tbar - Any idea what species and size of Tilapia were stocked? What is the size of the predator base is the pond? How much of the pond has historically covered with FA?

It may be that everything was done right and they are eating the FA but not able to keep up with the load of the pond which would mean multiyear strategies or possible treatment chemically in conjunction with the Tilapia. I don't have enough experience to advise as my stocking of Tilapia this year was for forage and a touch of FA control/management. Be interested to hear what the experts say for sure.

How large is the pond?

2 acres

200#’s is a very large amount for that size of pond. I get 150#’s every year in a 5 acre and have zero algae.

I don’t know the size or species of tilapia that were stocked. They came from the same supplier as I use.

Is this Filamentous algae...?

It looks like FA in its last yearly phase (floats to surface and dies-off) to begin again next year.

Tilapia will eat lots of the types of algae and many delicate plant materials, However, I am learning that tilapia will not eat a couple types of distasteful algae. Not all algae tastes the same similar to all vegetables do not all taste the same. Thus - one may not get the same results in different ponds due to different types of algae being present.

Fascinating.

Great post by Bill Cody. I just assumed the evil "filamentous algae" in all of the Pond Boss posts was a single species that was ubiquitous across most of the U.S.

Went to look it up based on Bill's comment.

Just in genus Spirogyra, there are more than 400 different species!

Genus Cladophora has at least 183 different species.

Further, there are many other types of filamentous algae that are not even in the same taxonomic Class. (That is four levels higher than Species!)

Finally, it appears that many of the filamentous algae are not even closely related. Rather, they are an example of "convergent evolution" where their traits are derived from fitting into their environment. (For example, birds and bats are not closely related, but their wings are similar due to the requirements to achieve flight.)

My interpretation of Bill's comment regarding filamentous algae: Follow the advice given by the experts on Pond Boss. However, that advice might not work on your particular FA, so you must also consider a Plan B, if Plan A is not working.

(Any experts, please feel free to expand or correct my comments above.)

If there are thousands of floating dead Tilapia this fall, then we know they weren't LMB gape friendly and they just didn't like the algae. If there aren't any floaters, then they may have been LMB scooby snacks.

For more information on the topic of tilapia eating filamentous algae (FA). As noted by FishinRod there are many genera and several thousands of species of FA. To me from the picture above it looks like most of the clumps or groupings of floating material is or are composed mostly of filamentous Cyanobacteria and not the real common green filamentous string like algae.
Unlike cyanobacteria plankton blooms there are or can be attached growths of filamentous Cyanobacteria - bluegreen algae. These usually occur as mat-like growths of varying thicknesses. If the material has an offensive odor then it is likely Cyanobacteria. Sometimes these growths are mixed in with the green string algae. These Cyanobacteria growths can also sometimes contain toxins that are probably distasteful and could probably be harmful to human health and pets, whereas green filamentous string algae (Chlorophyta) are harmless. Though unsightly, green filamentous algae do not produce toxins and are readily consumed by tilapia. .

Hello.

It looks like what I already had.





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