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Advice on Tilapia breeding

I recently had quite a few tilapia die in my smaller AP system. I believe the tank was too small and I was too slow in getting my new system cycled.

Long story short, I now have 2 large tilapia and 1 smaller one. I'm pretty certain the 2 larger are male and the smaller is female. They're now in a brand new IBC home. Since I've lost some fish, I'm hoping to be able to get them to breed.

In observing their behavior (same day they were moved), the larger male seems pretty active. He nudges the other male and in general just seems a little aggressive. The female kind of stays out of the way. Should I move the other and let the happy couple honeymoon?

I've read about adding some structures to the tank for the male? I dropped a 4" PCV fitting in there but nothing else yet.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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Permalink Reply by Randy on August 5, 2013 at 9:23pm

I would suggest leaving the three in there together. If you remove one of the males the female will have to endure all of the male's aggression. The males are determining dominance so let the better one win as long as neither are seriously injured. Pay attention when you feed them to see if the female quits eating. If she stops eating she is holding eggs. After about three weeks move her to the small tank. Put a strong light on the tank while you're waiting to move her so that algae grows for the fry to eat. As soon as the fry are free swimming remove the female. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Fred on August 23, 2013 at 1:59pm

Just a follow-up here.

I purchased some 6" PVC pipe from Home Depot and cut this into 6" lengths. I then zip tied them into a triangle shape and dropped them into the tank. The tilapia seem to love hiding out in the tubes and it seems to have reduced the males aggression. I'm still holding out for the breeding.