Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have some medium sized tilapia (thank you Janet) that are probably big enough to mate and would like to get them into the right size/type of tank for breeding. I saw on a separate post that a 50 gallon tank was suggested.

That is going to get pricey if the tank is a glass aquarium. If it is not glass however, it seems that it would be a lot more difficult to monitor the fish's behavior.

Is it best that a breeding tank is glass? If so, will a 20 or 30 gallon suffice? (I am thinking of cost here.)

Also, I am thinking of making an order for fingerlings from Valmeyer or Miami Aquaculture. Does anyone in or near Pennsylvania want to share in this? I don't think I will need a full hundred fish.

go on craigslist or somewhere like a flea market and go for an old used aquarium. 20 gallons is ok if you put in two big clay pots or 4" heavy PVC tubes/fittings at each end of the tank so that the female can stay out of the males arena.

You can very easily use a tub and don't need to keep watching the female. Again make sure the female has a good place to hide at the opposite end of the tank, and that male's line of sight is cut off, or else he will chase her endlessly.

After a week at 80 degrees you will notice the female distending her throat as if she were chewing on a cud. She is rotating the eggs in her mouth. You can spot this from above if you dont have a glass aquarium with side view.

I'm finding 50gal (3 feet long) to be a little snug for my breeders. They have hides, but some of my fish have real attitudes. Personally, if I had the space, I would get a 55gal (4 feet) tank.

When are you going to order fish? I might be interested in 25 fingerlings. I'd hold them in one of my breeder tanks for a bit, keep some aside for mixing in to my broodstock, and promote the rest for growout.

I was thinking about using a 30 gallon used drink drum and bolt on a thin piece of plexi-glass for a view port. Heated space is an issue for me as well as cost.

The surface area of the tank is the most important thing here because the male defines his territory by surface area and not volume.
I'd say 40-45 cm would be enough height wise.
Do has MF says about the rocks, fish usually define the limits of their territory from a rock to another, as long as it does a border high enough. You can have some fish who will fight to take all the room in a fish tank, and if you put nicely disposed rocks and wood, you will create a few different territories and the fish will share the surface with less fight.
The important thing is to create a depth variation than can cut the eyesight of the fish, from bottom or top of the tank.

I like the big 4" PVC T Fittings because when you want to remove either the male or female from the tank all you have to do is cap each end when the fish goes inside and even if she spits the fry out, it stays trapped inside and you can gently dip the fitting into another tank without losing fry.

Do you cap one of the three sides of the T while its in normal use?

I cap the top to make it a tube.

But I drill a hole in the cap so it doesn't trap air