Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've tried several times to get some of my older tilapia to breed in the aquarium for me but so far no luck. Only breeding I ever had was in the big tank when I had left some hides in the tilapia cage which gave them a "bottom" on which to breed. Currently I have the three remaining fingerlings from that accidental breeding in an aquarium. They are now perhaps a little over 2" long.

Today I noticed that one of them seems to be all black around the mouth. Is it possible that a tilapia this small is already breeding and the one all black around the mouth is holding? If so, I suspect that I should remove the other two to a separate container.

Tilapia fingerlings can breed just fine - I got about nine babies before JP's and my fish were home a month. I think they were less than 2" long then. Found the babies in the sump, maybe you can setup up a catchment (sump, aquarium following parents aquarium) for any babies that may be produced.

Well that would definitely make breeding easier not having to worry about two or more big fish bashing about in a so called 50 gallon aquarium. Hum, catchment sump. I'm not really set up for that but perhaps I need to check the main sump since I know the fry traveled all through the aquarium system while I was away, including through gravel beds and even a ride through the pump.

Who knows what has happened though as the one that was looking black around the lips this afternoon is now looking normal so either false alarm or she spit and the others ate them or they escaped into the growbed and perhaps into the sump.

Much easier to keep a small aquarium warm enough for breeding too.

The dozen babies I have now were all refugees in the sump. If I was to plan for it I would have some kind of screened area maybe at the floor of the tank where any babies could stay safe from the adults, then maybe ride the drain out to the sump to be gathered up.

I suppose the main problem with letting little ones breed is that they still have the protein hunger and are quite capable of eating fry in a single bite. I'll have to think about this.