Tilapia in the UK help :(

[Wayne Berrow]

Hello

Im looking to start my own aquaponics system in my greenhouse but I cant find a UK supplier of tilapia, ive been searching for a couple of days now and have came up empty.

Any help form the UK people would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Wayne

[TCLynx]

Is there a particular reason you want to grow tilapia?  You know they are not required and you might do better with a more climate appropriate fish unless you have a very good source of cheap heating for your water.

I'm in a hot climate and it still gets too cold for tilapia here in the winter so instead of heating my water, I grow catfish and bluegill because they are native here and can survive our occasional cold spells.  There might be other fish more appropriate and local for you in the UK.

[Ian Hawkins]

tclynx is right it is a problem, we have a small system here in sheffield in our test hydro greenhouse but thats heated year round as a shop display, i got my tilapia from a place near ely cambridgeshire, i can get you the details if you still want to try them?

[Wayne Berrow]

Thanks both of you for your advice. Ian, my system wood be in a greenhouse I wasn't planning on heating it but if I had too in the winter what sort of costs would this incur for electric? Im looking for an edible fish to use so have you got any suggestions for our climate that are more suitable? Maybe trout?
Thanks again
Wayne

Ian Hawkins said:

tclynx is right it is a problem, we have a small system here in sheffield in our test hydro greenhouse but thats heated year round as a shop display, i got my tilapia from a place near ely cambridgeshire, i can get you the details if you still want to try them?

[TCLynx]

Perch and/or Trout are both fish I find when I do a quick search to see what your edible natives would be.

[Wayne Berrow]

Many thanks, I'll have a look into these them maybe as a better alternative. 

TCLynx said:

Perch and/or Trout are both fish I find when I do a quick search to see what your edible natives would be.

[Ian Hawkins]

carp are also an option although they arent eaten here really and i found them to not be the nicest fish in the world to eat personally. trout are good and readily available, i opted away from perch as they take a long time to grow.

[Wayne Berrow]

thanks Ian think I might go for trout then!

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Carp appears to be a great choice for a non-tropical AP setting, they can survive freezing temps, start spawning at 16-17 Celsius and can handle the heat too. They have much lower Oxygen requirements than many other fish and can stand up to pretty crappy water quality as well...They'll eat just about anything and can live for many, many decades...

And when prepared correctly isn't bad eating at all. (It helps the taste alot if the carp hasn't lived in the mud all it's life too...) If you have any sort of Asian or Slavic populations where you live, then Carp are probably consumed quite regularly.

[Wayne Berrow]

Cheers Vlad, good info!