Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi there! Help is needed and much appreciated. I got some (35) 2 inch tilapia this past Feb. They have not really shown much growth and are now super bloated. One has very dark spots on the belly. I just got home from a 3 month trip and the water was really green but is already correcting itself once I rinsed my media (clay balls) well. I have lost 3 fish in the past month. I did a water test and all seems within normal limits. I also have 2 gold fish in there that have been there for 2+years. Not sure if that makes a difference. But I did yank most of my plants before I left in May except 3 which I moved to a grow bed and shut my tubes off. So now my water only cycles through my bed then back to the tank (200 gal). I have a small and very basic system. It's always done well but I've never done tilapia. I have researched the interweb but no real answers to my specific problem. All advice welcomed and the utmost appreciation for it!

What's the water temp and what are you feeding them?

The water temp is 88 f and the feed is a pond fish feed from a pet store. I was kind of afraid maybe I wasn't feeding them the right stuff.

My guess is it's that the feed is not formulated for growth as most commercial fish feeds. A lot of the feeds for aquariums or ponds are for maintenance and not growth. Fingerlings generally need more protein in their feed than adults. The FAO has some information on Tilapia feed including another possible cause of stunting - http://www.fao.org/fishery/affris/species-profiles/nile-tilapia/feed-formulation/en/

Tilapia are pretty flexible when it comes to feed. I think it's unlikely but possible that these fish will remain stunted. Try a better feed and see how it goes.