Tilapia Fry/Fingerling questions

[Jeff S]

I have 2 litters of Tilapia fry/fingerlings ( not sure when they become fingerlings) that I have been raising in a 55 gallon aquarium, 1 litter for 2 months, 1 litter for 6 weeks. I'm thinking of combining the 2 into an IBC tote that I've been growing duckweed in and using as a drain/flow tank from my GB to my FT. I know the 2 month old litter can eat the duckweed but don't think the 6 week litter is ready for duckweed yet. I'm curious to see how long the duckweed lasts and how fast the fish grow with unlimited food. I know I'll need more grow bed area to accommodate this. Just looking for pros and cons to this idea.

[Jim Joy]

Even fry will eat duckweed.  They have to pick at it for a while, but will eat it all eventually.  Fry and fingerlings also eat algae from tank surfaces.  A nice green algae covered tank is nirvana to tilapia.  

I fed my 2 week old fry a tablespoon of duckweed an hour ago.  They have eaten about half and are still attacking it.  The tank of two month old 1.5" to 2.5" fingerlings finished off a hand full of duckweed in an hour.

I still feed commercial food in addition to duckweed.  I'm also going to try feeding chopped purslane in a month or so.  It grows like a weed and has a high omega 3 oil content - high for plants.  Will see how that works.  

[Jeff S]

I did put them in the IBC and within a few days I had no duckweed left. I've always had a hard time growing duckweed.