Tilapia Guide

Your Complete Guide for Raising Tilapia

How do you breed tilapia?

Most Tilapia “farmers” designate a breeding tank that houses 5 females and 1 male.  This ratio allows for maximum production from the breeding pairs.

When are Tilapia sexually mature?

Tilapia will be sexually mature when they are about 3 to 4 inches in length.  Getting them to hold still so you can measure them is another issue :) .

How can you tell the sex of Tilapia?

Once a fish gets to be 4-5 inches in length, you can sex them visually.  The easiest difference to see is the males have a “V” penis in between the anus and the tail fin.  The Females will have two different sized holes.

What specific conditions are required for Tilapia breeding?

Privacy, Clean Water and a specific male to female breeding ratio.  The best scenario is 5 females to 1 male.

How do you care for Tilapia fry and fingerlings?

Most importantly is having a designated tank specifically for the new fry.  The older tilapia will eat the fry if they are in the same tank.  As soon as the fry are able to eat on their own, they can be separated from the mother.

What do you feed Tilapia?

TIlapia can eat a wide diversity of plant and feed.  Most aquabioponic systems feed a standard fish pellet that is high in protein.

What does Tilapia taste like?

Tilapia is fast becoming one of the most predominate fish that is being raised for human consumption.  One of the main reasons is that it does not have a heavy fish taste, giving it the perfect taste to be used in a wide variety of dishes and flavors.

Why is Tilapia a good choice for sustainable aquaculture?

Tilapia is known to be a very easy fish to maintain.  For beginners and large operations, having a fish that does well to diversity in water temperature, pH, water control and etc, makes Tilapia the perfect fish.

For beginner aqua-bionic farmers, tilapia can immediately be the best solution to create a perfect bio-diverse system that only requires an initial investment.  With tilapia the “rabbits” of the water, they are very easy breeders and just as easy to keep.

Where did Tilapia originate?

Tilapia have a very wide and diverse history.  Originally from the warm waters of Africa, tilapia have been discovered as being farmed over 4,000 years ago by the Egyptians along the Nile.  The Greeks also were tilapia lovers, and Aristole is thought to have named them “Tilapia niloticus” or “Fish of the Nile.”

Tilapia is also a part of Christian tradition as being the fish that was caught by the apostle Peter in Matthew 17:27.

Is Tilapia a healthy dietary choice?

A tilapia filet (1oog) can provide up to 18g of protein and 90mg of Omega-3 which is an essential dietary requirement for health.

What should the Water Chemistry be in raising tilapia?

Temperature: 80-85F,  Oxygen: 5-6ppm,  PH:7-7.5, Free Ammonia: 0, 2ppm will kill, 1ppm will hinder growth. Nitrate: .3mg/l or less, Nitrate: 200-300 PPM, CO2: 20mg/l or less, Chlorine: 0.

How often should I feed Tilapia?

Because of the fast growing nature of the tilapia, they require a consistent and steady feeding.  Typically a schedule of 4 times per day works best.  Fry need to be fed up to 8 time a day until they are over an inch long.

Please do not overfeed during each feeding.  Any feed that is in the tank after the fish feed can immediately lower the water quality of the tanks and ultimately kill the fish.

What types of supplemental foods can I feed to the tilapia?

Many tilapia farmers have tried a multitude of different types of feeds.  Some of the most famous are Duckweed, Red Worms, Suspended algea, Peas, Alfalfa Pellets, Black Soldier fly larva, Insects, Lettuce, Greens, Brine Shrimp, Crickets and even grass clippings.

However, having a consistent base fish food maximizes the growth and also makes the system easier to maintain.

What is the ideal temperature for tilapia fry?

Tilapia fry need to have the same temperature as mature tilapia, but with a better consistency.  Having a tank that is between 80-83 degrees can be ideal.

What is the ideal pH for the tilapia?

The best pH level is between 7-7.5 pH.

How many Tilapia can I fit in my tank?

This question is a difficult one to answer.  There are a lot of different issues that arrise when increasing fish volume in your tanks.  Oxygen levels is usually the biggest issue that happens.  Keeping a well oxygenated tank on a continual basis is a must.

It is also to pack 100′s of fingerlings in a large tank, but within weeks they double in size and they are overstocked.  The best way to handle the different stages of grow out, is to create different tanks for each grow out stages.

The easiest way to calculate the “biomass” ratio is to plan on a ratio of 1 pound of fish to 3-4 gallons of water.

A 250 gallon IBC tote with a grow bed will be able to support 71-80 pounds of fish.  If you are raising the tilapia to 1.5-2 pounds the maximum amount of fish will be 36-45 fish.

How can I tell if I’m getting good fish?

One of the biggest issue with quality tilapia is “line-breeding.”  Some Tilapia farmers will not maintain pure stock and breed their own stock over an extended period of time.  This can significantly lower the quality of the fish and destroy the integrity of the species.

Make sure you are purchasing your base stock from an breeder that is maintaining species integrity.

Do Tilapia eat fish excrement?

Like many fish species, tilapia are bottom feeders.  This means that they will eat plants, algae, and sometimes even smaller fish.  If any fish is forced to live in a dirty environment, they will eat waste.  Purging and replacing water on a continued basis is a must for quality fish.

How do you Line Breed Tilapia?

Line breeding is the process of continuing to select only the highest quality of fish as your breeding stock.  This allows to breed for desirable traits.