Raising Tilapia Fry

[Rick Stillwagon]

A friend recently gave me about 30 Tilapia fry.  It has been an interesting experience raising them from about 1/8" - 1/4" fry to seeing them double in size in the last week or so.  He also gave me a formula to feed them with: egg yolk, yeast, tropical fish food, and a little water.  Seems to be working so far!

[George]

Michael, I have bluegill instead of tilapia but I suggest that you experiment with the worms and see if your fish like them.  I seem to remember that the younger tilapia need more protein than older fish so worms may be a good thing to feed them.

[Michael Welber]

I am interested in what you said about worms. I have a lot of red wigglers. Will tilapia that are about 2-3 inches long eat them? Should I cut up the worms I put in? 

[George]

I expect the doubling may continue.  It is an interesting thing to watch.  I'd never kept fish before and I'm finding that I enjoy it.  This morning I dropped a big slug into the tank, then a somewhat large worm from a tomato plant, then their regular food.  They really enjoy the live food.  Sounds like you're motoring right along.

[Rick Stillwagon]

I mix the yeast and fish food into the egg yolk, add a little water to thin it out, then pour a little in about 3 times a day.  Clouds the water up for a few hours.  I clean the filter daily, and change it weekly.  The fry are kept in a ten gallon aquarium.

[Michael Welber]

How do you make that formula up in a form that you can feed them?