FAQs

FAQ

These are the most common questions I could think of. Please e-mail me any question you don't see here. It might make to this page.

What does a Tilapia eat?
How do they do "the wild thing"?
Help!, that horny son-of-a-fish is hurting the females!
First she had a mouthful, now it's gone, what's up?
How long before the little cherubs grow into "Aquatic whoppers"?
Why do they try to "gulp air" from the surface of the water?
When do they "graduate" to the big outdoors?

Please look below for the answers

Q: what does a Tilapia eat?

A: What doesn't it eat is the question. Tilapia will eat just about anything from microscopic organisms through their gills, (they literally "filter" them out of the water), to algae, bugs, worms, if nothing else is available even cat food! (Iams kitten dry food is best), duckweed, and of course there is the Purina line of Tilapia food called "Aquamax Catfish and Tilapia" food available from your local feed store. It's kind of pricey though. Any regular pellet pond fish food that is high in vegetable protein is alright to use.

Q: How do they do "the wild thing"?

A: When the male is "in heat" which is most of the time (how strange, huh?), he will prepare a "room" which can be any thing from a little space between two rocks, a corner of the aquarium, some place he can defend from passers-by. You can help him a great deal by placing near the end of the aquarium a big flowerpot. Sort of like a little cave which he can use as a "bachelor pad". He will them swim by the females waving his tail very near their faces, and will try to "steer" the female towards his "pad". A female ready to breed will follow him to his spot and start a ritual of swimming in circles around each other. She will deposit some eggs on the floor of the cave, and swim away. He will swim right over them and spray his semen on them, then the female will pass by and pick them up into her mouth. This can go on for hours. Tilapia love "Tilapia caviar", so the male must always be on guard ready to intercept any of the other females if they get too close to his "pad".

Q: Help!, that horny son-of-a-fish is hurting the females!

A: Trouble in paradise?, domestic disputes already?, yes, a male will kill a female within two days if she doesn't "behave". The answer? have at least 6 females in a tank with one male. That way he will keep getting distracted by "the other woman" in the neighborhood. In addition, you should place in the aquarium chunks of 4 inch PVC pipe about 8 inches long. The females will use them as hiding spots when the are not in the mood.

Q: First she had a mouthful, now it's gone. What's up?

A: This sometimes happens when the female is young. The first time or two she doesn't quite do it right. (How strange, huh?), She can sense when eggs are not fertilized and she will eat them.

Q: How long before the little cherubs turn into "Aquatic whoppers"?

A: As fast as you can feed them! (theoretically, of course). It is a question of metabolism. The fish need oxygen from the water in order to digest the food. The more oxygen dissolved in the water, the more they can digest. That is why in commercial "dense culture"; pure oxygen systems are used. In a system designed to provide all the oxygen the fish could ever want, and adjusting the other variables accordingly (filtering, etc.) Tilapia has been grown from birth to 2 pounds in about 8 months. In my 29 gallon tank they literally double in size the first day! In a realistic setting, as in your backyard, it takes about a year. Just keep up with the filters and the air and watch the babies grow!. Not so for the breeders though, you want them to stay nice and small for as long as possible.

Q: Why do they try to "gulp air" from the surface of the water?

A: That is an indication that the oxygen level in the water is low. They are not gulping air, they are gulping oxygen rich water from the surface. If this happens constantly, you must do something to enhance aeration. Just get the water moving! it is the friction of the water and air that transfers oxygen to it. If this happens just after feeding, they are looking to maximize their oxygen intake in order to digest the food. Just feed a little less next time. Frequent feeding is much better than one big mouthful.

Q: When do they "graduate" to the big outdoors?

A: Although they could survive outside (provided there are no bigger fish in the tank) as soon as their mother stops taking them back into her mouth, I prefer to leave them in the nursery tank until they are about 3/4 inch long. By then they know the "hand that feeds them", and the food. Which, by the way, is finely ground from the pellets you buy for the bigger ones.

Welcome to Tilapia farming!

Tilapia farming at home, for food, for profit, for fun! ---------------(and all you need is a wet thumb!)