TILAPIA ALTERNATIVES

[Gus Cabrera]

I checked state of Louisiana regulations regarding raising tilapia and they are extensive and very stringent if you are to follow the law, which is what I will do. So I've decided not to raise tilapia even though that is what I would have preferred. I wanted a food fish that is an omnivore, but am having a hard time finding species that are suitable. I'm nearly sure that I will raise Koi along with a food fish (as opposed to ornamental). Some candidates are: hybrid bluegill, black crappie, hybrid buffalo, and the perennial catfish. I would appreciate any suggestions especially suitable for the Gulf South.

[George T]

I've decided that Tilapia aren't an option for me. Someday, with a greenhouse and solar water heating, maybe. In the interest of self sufficiency, I hoped to farm a species which would reproduce in a tank but I don't know of another species that will. Hybrid bluegill and black crappie both sound good to me, with a few catfish. Are buffalo a carp?

[TCLynx]

Channel Catfish are easy and grow big quite fast, can survive the heat as well as whatever cold your location will throw at them. They can easily be big enough for good eating in less than a year and if you keep them for two years, you could get up between 3 and 10 lbs per fish depending on your set up and feeding habits. 5-6 pounds is pretty common for our fish that we keep more than a year. Run extra aeration for the summer at least and design your system to handle max stocking so that when the fish get bigger than you planned, you are not causing water quality to decline and your fish should do well. (Smallest fish tank I would recommend for a catfish system is 300 gallons. I would also recommend 600 gallons of flood and drain grow beds for such a system and to make that work without needing a sump tank, I would use an aquaponics indexing valve.)

I've heard blue gill are really great eating and easy in aquaponics but they do take longer to grow out and never get quite so big.

[Growitright Aquaponics]

We have run into the same issue here. I chose to start with goldfish and Koi. I think Catfish, Koi, Sunperch, Crappie or Bluegill would be best for your area. They can also grow together in the same system as long as you keep them size graded.

[L F]

Gus you can probly get a lot of information about catfish from universitys in Mississippi as they sponsered a lot of fish farming over there a few years ago. Hope this is is of some help.

[L F]

L F said:

Gus you can probly get a lot of information about catfish from universitys in Mississippi as they sponsered a lot of fish farming over there a few years ago. Hope this is is of some help. Right now I am cosidering minnow but have more research before I lock this in stone. My idea is to evolve this into a bigger version at a later date which would include catfist in a small pond at a llater date.

[L F]

L F said:

L F said:

Gus you can probly get a lot of information about catfish from universitys in Mississippi as they sponsered a lot of fish farming over there a few years ago. Hope this is is of some help. Right now I am cosidering minnow but have more research before I lock this in stone. My idea is to evolve this into a bigger version at a later date which would include catfist in a small pond ..

[L F]

L F said:

L F said:

Gus you can probly get a lot of information about catfish from universitys in Mississippi as they sponsered a lot of fish farming over there a few years ago. Hope this is is of some help. Right now I am cosidering minnow but have more research before I lock this in stone. My idea is to evolve this into a bigger version at a later date which would include catfist in a small pond .

[L F]

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L F said:

Gus you can probly get a lot of information about catfish from universitys in Mississippi as they sponsered a lot of fish farming over there a few years ago. Hope this is is of some help. Right now I am cosidering minnow but have more research before I lock this in stone. My idea is to evolve this into a bigger version at a later date which would include catfist in a small pond .

[George T]

I'm become very interested in Coppernose Bream, a sub species of bluegill, and a Florida native. They're now widely stocked throughout the southern U.S. Hybrid bluegill should be ok, although Coppernose are said to take pelleted food more readily. Also, I read that if the Hybrids reproduce, the offspring will revert to an interior parent fish, Green Bream, I think it was. I'd like to stock something that will reproduce and bluegill do reproduce in aquariums.

[Growitright Aquaponics]

I have researched all species of tilapia and they do not allow any of them in Northern California. I have decided to appeal this decision with our Coastal Commission then hopefully fish and game will decide to change their policies. This may take quite some time. It is difficult to reverse a legal decision that is already on the books. Fish and Game needs to become educated about the benefits of a closed aquaponic system. I think these policies were written during the aquaculture boom of ten years ago. Farm raised fish have a bad reputation. For a couple of reasons. There are escapees into the native fish populations. That is why they were originally banned, because Nile tilapia escaped. The other reason is aquaculture in the US is viewed as unsustainable. Many people I talk to automatically assume a fish farm is GMO or the fish treated with hormones and antibiotics. They are thought of as dirty and diseased mass production low quality fish. Of course we all know, this is not the case with aquaponics.I was excited about Mozambique when I first heard of them. I was misinformed by someone who told me I can use them but after some research, it's a no go. As I always say nothing is impossible. It may take some extra research and time.


Kobus Jooste said:

Perhaps you can just go get yourself some Mozambique tipalpia and claim that it is not listed in the rules you attached - the species name is Oreochromis mossambicus, not Tilapia mossambica. On a more serious note, what are the possibilities of getting other tilapia species into your part of the USA that is not listed in the permit doccie. The reason I ask this is because there is another species, Tilapia rendalli, that may be appealing. It can take 11 to 37 degrees Celcius, will breed in your tank (I think) and is mostly herbiverous although will be omnivorous in an environment with crustaceans and small fish. My first choice would have been Mozambique tilapia - they can take relatively low temps and takes greens with easy. My system just threw a wobbly with TAN hitting 5.5 and Nitrates turning at 7.8 and I did not loose a single one............

[Growitright Aquaponics]

I am curious what an "aquaponics index valve" is? Do you mind filling me in.
Thanks, Nicholas
GrowitRight Aquaponics

TCLynx said:

Channel Catfish are easy and grow big quite fast, can survive the heat as well as whatever cold your location will throw at them. They can easily be big enough for good eating in less than a year and if you keep them for two years, you could get up between 3 and 10 lbs per fish depending on your set up and feeding habits. 5-6 pounds is pretty common for our fish that we keep more than a year. Run extra aeration for the summer at least and design your system to handle max stocking so that when the fish get bigger than you planned, you are not causing water quality to decline and your fish should do well. (Smallest fish tank I would recommend for a catfish system is 300 gallons. I would also recommend 600 gallons of flood and drain grow beds for such a system and to make that work without needing a sump tank, I would use an aquaponics indexing valve.)

I've heard blue gill are really great eating and easy in aquaponics but they do take longer to grow out and never get quite so big.

[TCLynx]

I would gladly share what an Aquaponics Indexing Valve is. It is a means of sequencing the flow of water to different zones or grow beds. They are completely mechanical and depend on the flow of water to them starting and stopping in order for them to index forward to the next zone. They are similar to the indexing valves sold for irrigation but with some special modifications that make them better suited to aquaponics. I'll have to see if I can get some videos up of them working. But for now here are some links to sites with them.
Site with animation
my site with a different animation
I'm only the dealer for the states along the I-75 corridor but the top site has contact info for dealers in the rest of the americas as well as around the world.


Growitright Aquaponics said:

I am curious what an "aquaponics index valve" is? Do you mind filling me in.
Thanks, Nicholas
GrowitRight Aquaponics