To continue with my first years experience with Tilapia in a new pond, I will tell what I have seen. As I tried to explain in my earlier post is to say the Tp reproduced in what I would call large numbers of fish, especially when I started with 24, 6" stockers. Stocked April 1st 2015, within a short time period of say 30 days or so, I started seeing larger spawning beds. And then checking minnow traps I started seeing 1/2" fry. Before long I was seeing schools of 4" Tp and the stockers were now in the 10" or better in size. Fish numbers continued to grow until I would have estimated see numbers in the 500 count range and by Dec. I was seeing many schools with fish sizes of 12+ " but not seeing many in the 3 to 4" size when we had our surface water temps start dropping to 51 and the Tp were sickly looking, to the point I did not want to eat them, but I think that is when the lmb have a feast. And then the weather got warmer and I started seeing a lot of them in a condition I would eat. And at or around Jan 15th, 2016 the water temps began cooling again and I started seeing extremely stressed Tp along with some dead floaters. I have continued seeing this, and even today I saw a small 2" one, a stressed one, near the shoreline. Surface water temps are hanging around 51. I have seen Bald Eagles eating the slow movers and cormorants have feasted on them. And the dead ones that have floated to the shore, including maybe some 14" ones have been eaten by all types of animals, coons and etc. And Vultures are all along the shore eating their share. In fact, I figure most all of the things that are around a pond might feast on them. Turtles, crawfish, FHM's etc. The dead ones are disappearing one at a time.
Tracy
