Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

so true... they took the goldies I no longer wanted about a year ago after I had used them to age my tank's water..

That is a good idea - I had just assumed they would be "retired" humanely when Winter sets in and there is no room left for them.

"People who get "pets" and then don't want them turn them loose. We are having problems in the everglades with pythons killing off the allegators."

Joyce, I just read an article in our paper yesterday, about a python in Idaho, which ate an electric blamket, complete with power cord and controls!! That puts a new spin on the winter warmer meal!!

Monya, I don't think I want to meet that python. This snake must be really cold.

did you guys not ever see the photo of the pyton that exploded wgile trying to eat the alligator. it was something like a 30ft python that tried to eat a massive alligator, the snake had it half down and the whole top half of the snake split down the side and both lie there dead. It was al over the news and the papers. realy freaky photo

My fish were about 1mm long when I started ...

Right now the biggest is about 12 cm!

yeah, saw that one Nick. I thought it must have been a hoax at first. Man I'm glad we don'thave those pythons here. That is prehistoric stuff!!

any chance of posting that pic - would love to see it

Some babies grown from 1mm length.

Click here for photo.

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... pic_id=127

So... Is no one here growing tilapia except Johnnie? I am seriously considering trying to grow some for next season, as I want the satisfaction of eating the fish I grow rather than just looking at them admiringly! It seems that the only difficulty I will have to resolve in raising them instead of goldfish is the temperature management thang.

Dave, Tilapia is all I am growing for the aquaponics project. I have tropicals and goldfish in my tank at home. I have done alot of research on these fish and have found them to be very hardy and easy to breed. Almost to easy as you have to watch for too many babies, or if you want to you can get sterile ones. I enjoy watching the fry and see how fast they grow. With the right amount of protein they can grow at 50% of their body weight every 3 days. They spawn twice a month and can have as many as 2,500 eggs/lb body weight, so my research says, I have only seen about 50 - 100 at a time. They hatch in 5-7 days. For breeding you want 3 females to each male. They are vegetarians and will eat leafy scraps, duckweed and even regular pond pellets which are very inexpensive, I pay $11 for 50 lbs. My friends call them piranha for their eating habits.
The only thing you want to watch is they die when the temperature goes into the 50 F range.

It is illegal to possess Tilapia in most states of Australia.

Hi Joyce:
Where are you getting your fingerlings from?

There is a ministry in Dade county called Morningstar Ministries. I took a course there last year and met a gentlemen that is a missionary to Mexico. He wanted to help the homeless, but decided he could not help from Florida and gave the whole set up to me, including fish. We just had our first batch of fry born. We also have so many ponds and waterways that have tilapia in them it is not a problem. This is why Murray said they are ban from Australia, they reproduce to rapidly. If I knew how to send them to you I would.
Your best bet is to contact your state aquaculture specialist to obtain a list of tilapia fingerlings or check the Aquaculture Magazine's Buyers Guide for your region.

I wish we could get the red or pink versions of the mossambiques here in Western Australia where they are legal to keep as pets.

They are a fascinating fish.

Carp and goldfish cn go feral if mismanaged.