Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I just heard about aquaponics and I'm all about it. I've started putting together my designs and items list but when I came to my fish type I want to use blue or Nile tilapia. However, they are listed in Texas' exotic fish group requiring a series of license. The only research I've found to date speak of buinesess and growing for profit. I'm only growing for use as food no profit. Does anyone in the Texas area know if there are any exceptions for growing for personal use only?

Build it anyway. You can always add the fish later, I have been running my system on the fishless method for a while. Works great

You can use the Mozambique tilapia in Texas without a permit. Any other tilapia needs a permit to be legal no exceptions. The permit is not hard to get, we will be getting ours eventually so we can sell. If I was not going to sell them, then I would not worry about a permit.

Texas was reviewing the regulations, not sure if anything came of it yet

I was going to use the Mozambique Tilapia myself but I don't want to deal with having to heat the water to keep them alive through the winter.

Yeah that is the issue. I had some make it through last winter with no supplemental heat, about 6. I put them inside to use them as breeders, but they died not long after that. Not sure why. You can have the blue tilapia sent to you from online, not sure what kind of trouble it would be if you got caught. No one will see inside my fish tank.

They reviewed them last year and let Mozambique tilapia in without a permit. Have not heard of any other changes in regulation since.