Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Stocking Tilapia - please weigh in

TJ, I'll respond to what I know and have researched on the Blues.

You can safely add the T at 60 degrees--(spawning rarely occurs below 70) and if a few cold nights occur the T will most likely find warm pockets of refuge even in aerated ponds and survive. They will even dig into the substrate to survive. I watched this when I lowered the temp in a tank with ice to 40 degrees for 30 minutes and all 8 3 inch "test" fish survived.

Blues (and Niles) sexually mature at 4 inches and/or 2-4 months. Assuming you have at least a 4 month spawning season (water above 70) AND you stock 2 month old 4"+ fish you will get 2-4 spawns from each originally stocked female producing an average of 200 surviving offspring. Of the first YOY spawn, you will get at least one spawn from each of those females and a possible spawn from the second YOY.

Assume you have a 4 month growing season (water temp above 70) and stock 100 three month 4" fish, 50 male, 50 female. Let's use an example of only 10 females spawning within a week of stocking and each producing the average 200 (50% male/female ratio) surviving fry and all other spawn from all other females falling to predation. Those original 10 will produce at least 4000 offspring (2 spawns)and the fist spawned females will produce another 200,000 fish that will be an average size of 3" by the end of your 4 month season.

Please check my math.---I'm old!