Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I recently switched to a commercial feed that was suppose to be for Tilapia 2-5in (the size of my fish). Before switching over I had been feeding them a similar pellet feed that came with the shipment of fish. I've been trying to figure out why they aren't eating the new food. The PH is at 6.9 and the temperature ranges from 62 to 66 degrees F. I thought the nitrate levels might be a little high so I set my timer to pump the tank more frequently. I even added a carbon filter from my old fish tank. I've tried feeding them worms. No matter what I do the fish seem uninterested in eating. Any suggestions?

What kind of tilapia are they? Most tilapia will go belly up when it drops below 60.

University of Kentucky's website states:

"Tilapia performance is best in a temperature range of 72-90º F. Growth and feeding slow when water temperatures drop below 70º F. However, tilapia are cold intolerant and die when water temperatures are lower than 45-55º F. Blue tilapia will survive in lower water temperatures (above 45º F) than most other species of tilapia."
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/wkrec/tilapiakentucky.htm

Add a heater.
150w should do the trick.
http://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Aquarium-Submersible-Heater-150-Watt/dp/B006MMJ8EE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389406256&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+heater

Do you have any of the old feed left? Will they eat any of that?

Is the food they are not eating floating or on the tank bottom? If floating they be eating what sinks and adjusting to the new feed.

Are the pellets the same size?

Can you check the ingredients and protein level of both feeds and compare.

Do not feed anything to them for a few days the try small amounts of the new feed. Even a week without feed is not going to hurt them.

ccbear and tlrobb are both giving you good advice here.

Sometimes it takes some trial and error to see what is going wrong.

I have a heater in the tank its set to about 70 but the cold temps in the room make the tank a little colder. I will try turning the heater up. I finished off the old feed, which was the same size as the new feed. The pellets are almost identical in size but i think they are higher in protein. They use to eat the old food at the surface and now they never feed at the surface. There is definitely a chance they are eating the stuff at the bottom. Thanks ccBear hopefully this will work. Despite not feeding normally they seem to be acting about the same.

Most aquarium heaters work only in an on or off mode, and it is tripped by a thermometer. So, turning up the heater won't actually do anything. Most likely your heater is just on constantly, and the fluctuation is due to the time of day. Maybe yours is different, but if you don't see any results, I would get another heater.

Again, ccbear was right on the money about feed techniques. Also, fish can go a pretty long time without feeding (~up to a week).

Are the pellets the same size?

Can you check the ingredients and protein level of both feeds and compare.

Do not feed anything to them for a few days the try small amounts of the new feed. Even a week without feed is not going to hurt them.

warm them up! i raised many many tilapia over the last year and they would NOT eat at all if it got below 65, once it hit 68-70 they became ravenous. cold water makes them lethargic and they dont digest food well either. you could try taking some old junk blankets and wrapping the tank, i would bet my life that if you get it up a few degrees they will come alive.

use garlic to scent the new food