# Jones Talapia



## garryc (Jan 21, 2006)

I just ordered 72 talapia from Jones to be delivered in June. These fish are 4-6 inches long and they say they will spawn. Thoughts?


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## keith_r (Jun 18, 2010)

are you getting them because of algae problems? or to add to your forage base for predators?
i've heard lots of good results using tilapia.. what strain are you getting?
at 3-6" they'll be ready to spawn (or very close to it) when you put them in


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Well, it wasn't impossible afterall...like they and several other farms told me back in '04.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> Well, it wasn't impossible afterall...like they and several other farms told me back in '04.


LOL, that is what I wondered also when I saw this.

I will put more in my pond this year. I put in 30 lbs last year and it worked out pretty well.

I'm trying to compare prices from Rex at $$ per pound to Jones at $ per fish???


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## garryc (Jan 21, 2006)

keith_r said:


> are you getting them because of algae problems? or to add to your forage base for predators?
> i've heard lots of good results using tilapia.. what strain are you getting?
> at 3-6" they'll be ready to spawn (or very close to it) when you put them in


These are Blue Talapia 4-6 inches. .4 acre pond 72 fish. Algae control, this is an experiment to see how it works. The objective is to clean out Algea, or make it less difficult to rake out, and shorten the gap between plant and top preditor. We have some nice bass because I increased the forage base massively. Two years ago I put in 20 pounds of fatheads and pallets to spawn on, they are still evident. Last year I put in 250,000 golden shiner fry. I have 7 Christmas trees vertical in the pond and some other brush. Trapping showed a health number of various types of minnows. Fatheads, goldens, bass, longears and bluegill.

I walk the pond at night with a bright flashlight. Minnows everywhere. The bass are fat and growing fast. This year we are going to feed, last year there was too much algae with all the rain. More than that, a large amount of duckweed. Talapia are said to love duckweed.


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## keith_r (Jun 18, 2010)

the tilapia will do a number on the algae and duckweed.. they will also breed prolifically (they're mouth brooders) - those fish can grow up to a pound and a half to 2 lbs by 6 months
they'll clean up "muck" on the bottom of the pond after the algae and duckweed are under control too
just remember that they will add to the bio-load of the pond, and a pond can only "process" so much waste before you run into serious problems


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Garyc, 

You may still want to apply an early dose of Cutrine once water temps break 50. There will be a fair amount of growing time (4 to 6 weeks) for the algae before the tilapia can be stocked. Once the tilapia go in, they can concentrate more on the duckweed and cleaning up the detritus. Algae is cheaper and easier to kill than duckweed. Even with feeding pellets, I think you're stocking a good number. If you find the weeds coming back, shut off the feeder for a week or so. I've done this effectively and it usually results in the water becoming cloudy from the additional foraging. 

Also, a low density (two in your case) of grass carp compliment the tilapia in that they will eat some of the higher plants not on tilapia preffered list.

Note to anyone who may catch one to handle them like a bluegill but be forewarned that their dorsal fins have more and sharper spines than a bluegill and they will stick you every chance they get.


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

4-6 inch fish going into my pound are called bait or fish food. I am going to have to stick with Rex (Rainman) for my fish. $4+ per fish is too expensive to feed the Bass and Catfish.


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> Garyc,
> 
> You may still want to apply an early dose of Cutrine once water temps break 50. There will be a fair amount of growing time (4 to 6 weeks) for the algae before the tilapia can be stocked. Once the tilapia go in, they can concentrate more on the duckweed and cleaning up the detritus. Algae is cheaper and easier to kill than duckweed. Even with feeding pellets, I think you're stocking a good number. If you find the weeds coming back, shut off the feeder for a week or so. I've done this effectively and it usually results in the water becoming cloudy from the additional foraging.
> 
> ...



Good point [email protected] They are also one of the best fighting pan fish I've ever caught. Just remember if you are going to eat them, get them on ice as quick as you can.


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## garryc (Jan 21, 2006)

I rake out the floating algae in April/May. About once a week I'll deal with it. I want to continue that as I use it in my garden. Mixed in with my potato boxes they grow extremely well, as do onions and turnips. The idea is that if I physically remove the algae then I remove those nutrients with it, instead of just killing it and putting them back into cycle.

I don't know how well my bass will eat a 4" wide fish. We have a few larger bass, but still plenty of bluegills in that size class. The golden shiners got up to two inches it appeared last year, fry went in in May. The pond is far over loaded with nutrients. I have two aeration stations each with two 9 inch micro diffuser heads, pushing about 3.8 cfm into the pond. The pond is .398 acres and 8 feet deep. The depth increased about 18 inches between the diffusers the second year. I would say that the nutrients locked in the detritus layer go back into solution.

We do have two White Amurs put in two years ago.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Our tilapias are specifically the blue specie. I have 8 of them in a 40 gallon tank just to mess with them. They'll die around the 45 degree mark. I pushed the tank to the 50f mark and they were fine
Cranked it up to 86.. should have fry in a few weeks. These are not our stock for sale... I'm also an aquarium enthusiast and I'm just playing around at my shop.


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## keith_r (Jun 18, 2010)

do you sell small quantities of your tilapia? (10-25)


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Sure do, you could buy one if ya wanted.


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## keith_r (Jun 18, 2010)

i better try to get the tank this weekend then!

how many would you recommend in a 120 gal tank? i'll probably feed most of the fry to my yellow perch and bluegill, but i do want to grow some out..

thanks!


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

We won't technically be selling them for a few months but if they successfully spawn in my aquarium ( which they should) ide givem away.... stay tuned

You could put 20+ in a tank that size just remember they grow fast and mate like rabbits. I keep my fish at my office I expect a female to be holding eggs in a few weeks.


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