Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Tilapia Nests…

I had never seen Tilapia in the nests. I had also never seen them building nests until today.

Interesting.

Interesting

We humans have been complaining about the heat waves.

I think your tilapia are thoroughly enjoying the heat!

Interesting video and photo. I thought TP were more solitary spawners. In the video it looks like there are fish swimming around on a couple if hot more of those beds.

Thanks for sharing.

Those look like BG beds with BG circling the nests -Full Moon in August 2024 Monday, August 19 - you sure they are tilapia? Male Tilapia do build solitary nests -see below if tilapia.

From FishBase - an excellent source on fish info .

Life cycle and mating behavior - tilapia
Spawns at the edge of the littoral terrace of lakes (Ref. 1, 2, 87, 6465), in sandy or muddy bottoms (Ref. 57425). Displays a lek mating system; territorial males establish breeding territories where they dig spawning pits, assume a dark coloration, defend a breeding territory and actively court females; sneaking males intrude into nests during a spawning episode, exhibiting quivering behavior which is usually an indicator of sperm release; sneaking is predominantly performed by subordinate males, which may adopt pseudo-female behavior (Ref. 57425). Only territorial males produce sounds, during all phases of courtship but especially during the late stages, including spawning (Ref. 49830). Territorial male excavates and defends a basin-shaped pit in the center of his territory, where female deposits 100-1700(1800) eggs (Ref. 44894, 52307). Eggs and milt are sucked up by the female (Ref. 2, 44894). Fertilization is reported to sometimes occur in the mouth of the female (Ref. 6028). Females incubate eggs alone (Ref. 12501, 52307). It is possible, albeit rare, that males take up some eggs after spawning (Ref. 2, 5726, 52307, 57895), but they almost always eat them soon after (Ref. 52307). Females school together while mouthbrooding (Ref. 40035), they cease to feed and subsist on food reserves stored in their body (Ref. 1). Females may spawn a full clutch with just one male, or may spawn with several different males in a series (Ref. 52307). Water is circulated over the eggs by chewing movements of the jaws (Ref. 12501, 12522). Fry hatch in the female's mouth after 3-5 days (Ref. 2, 12501, 12522, 44894, 52307), depending on the temperature (Ref. 52307). The young are released from the mouth in 10-14 days, but remain near the female and enter the mouth if threatened until about 3 weeks old (Ref. 2, 44894, 52307). Fry and juveniles shoal in shallow water (Ref. 6465, 7248, 57895) where they feed during the day, and retreat to deep water at night (Ref. 87, 6465). Females raise multiple broods during a season (Ref. 7248, 57895).

ewest (and others)

I too thought the nests in the video looked like BG nests, but (to me) the fish swimming looks like a tilapia.

However, I think Tbar's eye is almost certainly more discerning than a video, and he identified the fish as tilapia.


Regardless of the actual facts, do any of our members with spawning tilapia in their ponds believe that they will use the pre-existing nests from other fish species? Since the fertilization process is relatively quick, and then the females go to mouthbrooding - it seems to me that briefly "borrowing" nests would be a huge energy savings for the tilapia?

Assuming there are adult BG in the pond, what are the chances that BG will not be spawning in a southern pond during the full moon in Aug ? I don't think tilapia will take over an in-use BG bedding area during the BG spawn. Those bedding fish appear to have blue bottom jaws, platelike shape, upright dorsal fins and are circling just like spawning BG males protecting their clutch. Also tilapia males nest and leave after the females pick up the eggs - they don't stay for days and guard the nest like BG.

I will be most interested in TBar's thoughts and anyone's ability to make the video clearer.

Fish are very energy conscious, and no doubt will take advantage of energy saving choices. Tilapia will use plate shaped depressions but usually don't do concentrated spawning beds but have separated beds (territory) given the option.

FWIW, I have NEVER seen Tilapia do any sort of colony nesting - always solitary nests.

Ditto

I have never established a large population of tilapia in my pond & only rarely seen a spawning bed. The more I have observed them I think they are Red Nile & not the blues I was supposed to get. Only saw them at the beginning of the season when the water warmed near shore. Just a shallow depression & if another tilapia got close there was an immmediate standoff & if too close a fight. Spawning beds were 30' apart. As the pond warmed they disappeared to deeper water & were never seen again till early next Spring.

Not sure where to put my money BG or Tilapia?

I am certainly no expert but....

Google Images

The nests with a Tilapia in them are convincing.