Tilapia in farm ponds

[greybeard]

I don't know from where, but at some point I got the belief, that:
1. You could only put tilapia in a Texas farm pond if they were sterile.
2. You couldn't put them in a Texas farm pond that had any close connection to state or other public waters. He said there was no problem stocking tilapia in a farm pond in Tx.
Am I wrong about this?

Was talking to my sister's son in law, and he has them in his little pond and they are reproducing like he77, and grew quick.
He crappie fishes Lake Houston (20 miles down river from me) and says he catches them all the time there.

Is there a down side to stocking them?
(The river gets up every year and becomes part of my ponds (vice versa) so that part of it makes stocking them a non starter if [2] is true.

 

[TexasBred]

Those rules apply to "Grass Carp" (Don't know they official name for them). Also have to obtain a permit from the state to purchase them.

 

[greybeard]

That's probably what it is...Asian grass carp I think they're called. Dunno why I thought the same applied to tilapia. I need to look in to it more.there seems to be conflicting rules on it., maybe more than one species of tilapia?

In Texas, stocking of Mozambique tilapia does not require a permit from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Blue or Nile tilapia require an exotic species permit, and are not to be used for recreational pond stocking. Other species of tilapia are not permitted in Texas. Check with a County Extension Agent in other states for legality of stocking tilapia.

https://fisheries.tamu.edu/aquatic-vege ... p-tilapia/


Does that mean Mozambique tilapia are OK?
:???: :?:

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas ... 09391.html

 

[callmefence]

That's probably what it is...Asian grass carp I think they're called. Dunno why I thought the same applied to tilapia. I need to look in to it more.there seems to be conflicting rules on it., maybe more than one species of tilapia?

In Texas, stocking of Mozambique tilapia does not require a permit from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Blue or Nile tilapia require an exotic species permit, and are not to be used for recreational pond stocking. Other species of tilapia are not permitted in Texas. Check with a County Extension Agent in other states for legality of stocking tilapia.

https://fisheries.tamu.edu/aquatic-vege ... p-tilapia/


Does that mean Mozambique tilapia are OK?
:???: :?:

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas ... 09391.html

I believe the reason the Mozambique tilapia are allowed is lack of cold tollerance. They will winter kill most years making them controllable. You stock them in spring harvest in the fall.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_carp

The Silvers and Bigheads are the real nasty critters. Pretty well ruined the river here.

 

[bird dog]

There are so many Talapia in Squaw Creek where the water stays warm from the Nuclear power plant, that they are a nuisance. If you catch one and don't want to eat it, you are suppose to gut it and throw it up on the bank. They spawn pretty much year round. Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

They can't allow the lake to get overfilled so when it starts getting above level, the gates open up and dump into the Brazos river. I'm sure some Tilapia go through the gates but Lake Whitney is downstream and I have never caught one there or heard of one being caught and I have fished the lake for 25 years.

 

[greybeard]

Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

That's really why I would even consider stocking them. I have lots of grass and lots of bass, and I want the bass fed more.

 

[sstterry]

Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

That's really why I would even consider stocking them. I have lots of grass and lots of bass, and I want the bass fed more.

Have you considered FatHead Minnows?

 

[greybeard]

I have lots of minnows already. I want something that grows a little bigger. Shad won't last long here, and tilapia may not.
I don't particularly want more bass, I want bigger bass.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

That's really why I would even consider stocking them. I have lots of grass and lots of bass, and I want the bass fed more.

http://sepond.com/fish-stocking/threadfin-shad

 

[TexasBred]

I have lots of minnows already. I want something that grows a little bigger. Shad won't last long here, and tilapia may not.
I don't particularly want more bass, I want bigger bass.

You might try adding a few crappie to the mix. They'll feed on the minnows and the bass will feed on them. They too multiple really fast so can over populate a tank quickly.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I have lots of minnows already. I want something that grows a little bigger. Shad won't last long here, and tilapia may not.
I don't particularly want more bass, I want bigger bass.

You might try adding a few crappie to the mix. They'll feed on the minnows and the bass will feed on them. They too multiple really fast so can over populate a tank quickly.

Would have been my suggestion as well. Second suggestion, and probably the best for increasing size, is to keep a healthy population by catching them out. Bass as well as crappie will quickly overstock, especially in a smaller size pond, therefore decreasing average size. A marine biologist friend of mine said, that when fishing in a farm pond, to never throw any back. (Common sense approach. If you're fishing every day this wouldn't apply. Also you would probably want to put the female bass back if you were fishing during the bedding season, which is February here most years) Also, if you wanted to spend the money (used to be $300 here) you could have someone come out and electro shock your pond and take an inventory. Won't hurt scaled fish but will kill any catfish.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I have lots of minnows already. I want something that grows a little bigger. Shad won't last long here, and tilapia may not.
I don't particularly want more bass, I want bigger bass.

You might try adding a few crappie to the mix. They'll feed on the minnows and the bass will feed on them. They too multiple really fast so can over populate a tank quickly.

Would have been my suggestion as well. Second suggestion, and probably the best for increasing size, is to keep a healthy population by catching them out. Bass as well as crappie will quickly overstock, especially in a smaller size pond, therefore decreasing average size. A marine biologist friend of mine said, that when fishing in a farm pond, to never throw any back. (Common sense approach. If you're fishing every day this wouldn't apply. Also you would probably want to put the female bass back if you were fishing during the bedding season, which is February here most years) Also, if you wanted to spend the money (used to be $300 here) you could have someone come out and electro shock your pond and take an inventory and develop a management plan. Won't hurt scaled fish but will kill any catfish.

 

[bird dog]

I would put in some Blue gill perch or red ears. They feed on the young bass fry and the bass hate them but they spawn after the bass so the bass get revenge. In good conditions they keep the population of each in check.

 

[Turkeybird]

I love crappie but they compete with bass for lil fry

 

[callmefence]

Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

That's really why I would even consider stocking them. I have lots of grass and lots of bass, and I want the bass fed more.

Their young keep the largemouth bass fat and sassy.

That's really why I would even consider stocking them. I have lots of grass and lots of bass, and I want the bass fed more.

Have you considered FatHead Minnows?

I agree. Fat head minnows are the best option for a small tank.

 

[callmefence]

I have lots of minnows already. I want something that grows a little bigger. Shad won't last long here, and tilapia may not.
I don't particularly want more bass, I want bigger bass.

You might try adding a few crappie to the mix. They'll feed on the minnows and the bass will feed on them. They too multiple really fast so can over populate a tank quickly.

Would have been my suggestion as well. Second suggestion, and probably the best for increasing size, is to keep a healthy population by catching them out. Bass as well as crappie will quickly overstock, especially in a smaller size pond, therefore decreasing average size. A marine biologist friend of mine said, that when fishing in a farm pond, to never throw any back. (Common sense approach. If you're fishing every day this wouldn't apply. Also you would probably want to put the female bass back if you were fishing during the bedding season, which is February here most years) Also, if you wanted to spend the money (used to be $300 here) you could have someone come out and electro shock your pond and take an inventory. Won't hurt scaled fish but will kill any catfish.

I'm pretty much positive that's incorrect jj.. :cboy: .. electroshock doesn't hurt catfish anymore than other fish.