Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Right!!!!!!
is that something like "I wish you were here" or "if only you had talked to me first"

heh Neither.... Just trying to be helppful. Wish I had Janets knowledge and my resources. and of course a rubbermaid dealer her in El Salvador.

I wish you could send me some tilapia, too DT. Your fish are beautiful. Alas, they wouldn't survive the journey. Rubbermaid would survive the journey, but the shipping costs would be astronomical!

Oh, CG -- regarding your comment on locking in the 'pink' trait in three generations: Short answer: if pink is recessive to gray, and does not cause color blending, then yes. You can lock it in 3 generations, but you will think you've failed in the second generation.

Hi Janet:
Did you try contacting these folks in NY state?

http://www.indoorfish.com/

There is a good fish food manufacturer about 20 minutes from our house. Tilapia only require "bronze" feed, haha (pass on platinum, gold, and silver):
http://www.zeiglerfeed.com/

Hi Dave,
I think I have acquisition of tilapia sorted out, but I need some place to actually purchase bulk fish food. I followed the zeigler link, but can't find a store that carries it yet. Any suggestions?

Pictures when you get your fish Janet...promise?

I will post pictures for sure! How could I resist showing off my new babies. It will be interesting to see if the fingerlings they send have developed any adult coloring, or whether it takes some time.

Janet, have you seen this site? if you really want to get into Tilapia production with super males.....

http://aquanet.com/aquastore/product_in ... ucts_id=34

Sorry, forgot to post the site.......

And what would I do with 5,000 pounds of tilapia each year?!?! Yes, I saw it and drooled. Then sanity hit. Thanks, DT.

Hi Janet:
My plan for food was to just drive over to the factory and buy a bag. I can research this if you're interested.

Hi Dave,
I most certainly am interested! In fact, this would work out great if we can synch things up...let me know price. I could probably do with a 50 pound bag or so. You get the fish food, I get the fish, and we swap stuff!

22.7kg

I actually got another response from a fingerling/fry supplier. These guys provide all males, no breeders. For small quantities, it's not as cost effective, but if you were just going to raise up a big batch every year, this would work really nicely. Email them at tiltech@bellsouth.net . Here's the text of their email response. Note that the price they quote was based on my 19350 zip code, so that could vary a bit. It's one set price no matter whether you want 50 or 500 fingerlings.
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Thanks for your inquiry. We own and operate a tilapia hatchery in Robert, Louisiana near New Orleans. We are the exclusive producer and distributor of GMT(genetically male tilapia) pure Nilotica from YY super male technology. We ship all over the world via UPS or air cargo. Because of our licensing agreement, the sale of Broodstock is prohibited.

We are always trying to improve our genetic line and we believe that the Nilotica we have are the fastest growers and have excellent yield. As far as the color, it would depend on your market.

We usually ship customers just starting out our sample box – our minimum order. We can ship 50-500 fry/fingerlings in one box(50 being larger and 500 smaller). We can ship one color or a mixture of colors. We would ship them UPS to your door and the cost is $230.00 including shipping. Because of the business of UPS and air cargo during the Christmas season, we will not be shipping anymore until after the Christmas holidays. We would require that payment be made in full prior to shipping. If you are interested our mailing address is: Til-Tech Aquafarm

45056 Riverdale Heights

Robert, Louisiana 70455

Thanks for your interest and we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy 2007.

Steve and Kathy Abernathy