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Comment by Elizabeth Cedeno on May 23, 2013 at 9:22pm

I can't tell male and females? at least not looking at the genitals, or someone said the females have stripes, but this is not clear to us... the ones we separated in a fish tank, but a lot of then fight and some are loosing scales and there fins are getting bit. We keep trying taking in and out different ones to try??? I think all the ones we have are males... we have about 60 fish.

 

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 23, 2013 at 1:59am

I have seen tilapia cultured in densities as high as 1 lb/gallon. Very risky however, I would not recommend it. However it demonstrates how resilient tilapia are. This paper might help: https://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm/event/getFactSheet/whichfactsheet/52/

Regarding fish growth, tilapia can have excellent food conversion ratios (FCR). I have seen as low as 1:1.1. In this case for every 1.1 pounds of feed provided you get one pound of fish. More common however is 1:1.5. In this case about 66% of your feed is being converted to fish. For rapid growth, feed about 3% of their estimated body mass per day. Translating to English, if your fish weigh 1,000 grams, feed 30 grams per day. Putting the two calculations together into an Excel  sheet can give you some interesting projections. Naturally this is based on having very clean water and an excellent filter system and your skill as a farmer.

Comment by Wendell Ford on May 22, 2013 at 6:53pm

I have a 4'x4'x6' floating net box. It is made out of 1/8" netting. It is floating in a 10000 gallon FT. I put 350 Tilapia fingerlings in three or four weeks ago. The fish are eating and active. I know the amount of water I have is more than sufficient for the fish if grown to 1 1/2 lbs each. My concern is the actual amount of room they have to grow. Does anyone have any idea on the amount of area fish need per pound? I am feeding them 4 to 6 oz of food per day. Does anyone have any idea of how much food per fish is needed for quick growth? Any help out there would be appreciated.

Comment by Hydroponics Curacao on May 22, 2013 at 4:35pm

I think the density is pretty high. I think the pond is even overpopulated

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 22, 2013 at 12:38pm

P.S. Regarding removing fry & eggs from females. From my experience it is a skill you learn. Once you got it, you loss percentages drop significantly. IMHOP.

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 22, 2013 at 12:36pm

At low densities of fish, the males will fight for territory and yes they can kill each other. (see vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWT1EX30ppk)

Also big males have been known to bully small males unto death. Solution? 

1. More uniform fish size.

2. Increase density. Like people in an elevator at a certain number of fish/ft3, (number unknown, trial and error) social restrictions break down and fighting diminishes or stops all together.

3. I am sure the others on the list will have additional workable solutions. 

Comment by Hydroponics Curacao on May 22, 2013 at 12:10pm

Okok. So all of them with that red fin are males? I've found these 2 today. I don't know if they are fighting for that area or what.

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on May 22, 2013 at 11:36am

RE: Red fins dorsal and anal. Male breeding colors.

Comment by Hydroponics Curacao on May 21, 2013 at 1:47pm

What does it mean when tilapias have a red colored fin? Been seeing a lot of them lately. Some of them are pretty aggressive and others aren't

Comment by Jon Parr on May 20, 2013 at 10:17am

Randal, most will get eaten, some will survive, and it largely depends on hiding spots, and hoe consistent you feed the adults. One bluegill will eat them all, however.

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