Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I would like some opinions about tilapia v native/common fish here in California(try not to get to emotional) Would you say it's easier/more economical to breed and feed train some bluegill or res? Or just heat water to raise tilapia? I ask because I'd rather not have to buy fingerlings constantly. I would think one could over winter next year's fry indoors and move them out in spring. A solar heater of some sort should be sufficient for nearly 7 months out of the year where i live. I haven't tried either yet but after reading various threads heating water seems easier. Right now i have channel catfish, goldfish, and mosquito fish.

I guess i could have just hijacked bcottons thread...

Central California can mean a lot of things climate wise. Unless your up in the mountains (or maybe right on the coast), Tilapia would probably be the way to go. Basically boils down to how much you'd have to heat the water. They grow without any help in the Salton Sea, with a little help from you (maybe not too much) they'd probably work pretty well. They are as bullet proof as fish for AP come but do best with water temps above 70 F and die at around 55 F or lower. Long before that low they will be more susceptible to problems related to stress though.

Thanks for the reply Scotty. I guess I'll have to try a few and out the hard way I have read a few posts on other threads that would say something to the effect of "i gave up on tilapia because of water temps" but if that is the only real objection, then I'm pretty comfortable trying them out. I should be able to get those temps without any additional costs most of the year.


besides the temp requirements, are there other issues with tilapia that I have blinded myself to?

Not that I know of but I'm not a Tilapia grower . Just read up as much as you can. Might find some examples of Tilapia growers in the IBC's of Aquaponics (link in the top left of the BYAP site).

Being in central california, don't forget about the legal issues. $10,000 fine per Tilapia if they catch you.

I like bluegill. They can withstand low and high temperatures. And they have good feeding behavior.

Thanks for the reminder Matthew, although I'm not really worried about getting raided by dfg. Maybe I'll just get a few bluegill and see if I can manage to breed them. Hopefully bcotton will post this year's attempt.

I have bluegill, no breeding so far . The main thing about them is their very slow growth compared to Tilapia. On the up side they are tough and will provide plenty of food for the plants while you are waiting. If California allows Yellow Perch, they might be a better choice because they have faster growth and there is a decent chance they can be bred in tanks.

Well after a little research it appears that although you can catch them in the wild, yellow perch are on the detrimental species list for Ca. (unlike Mozambique tilapia) so they are a no go. I guess if I want to play by the rules and have a chance at self producing stock I'll have to go with a sunfish, or maybe dig a pond to house some breeding sized channel cats, Or both

Now on to the planning stage, I hope to post a build/rebuild thread when I start the project

btw Scotty out of all the times I've seen your profile pic I just noticed something, is that horse parked in a handicap space? where's the placard?

first time I noticed that but it's not in one just next to one . Photo is from out in Eastern Oregon.