Everything you ever wanted to know about raising tilapia
Raising tilapia is a great way to have fish to take care of and always have a fresh supply of tilapia for your dinner table. Tilapia is one of the most popular kinds of fish to serve because of its distinct, non-fishy taste.
Raising tilapia is very east to do in your own home. They are perfect for indoor aquariums or outdoor ponds. However, they can only survive in warmer water, so keep this in mind as you plan the space for raising tilapia. Although each breed of tilapia is different, make sure you can keep the water around 80 or 85 degrees. This should cover most breeds of tilapia. If you’re breeding tilapia for the dinner table, then you’ll always want to keep a few breeding fish on hand to ensure you’ll always have a fresh supply on hand.
As you start planning the space you need for raising tilapia, remember that you need about four or five square feet for each fish. This requires a very large indoor aquarium if you want to do it indoors. If you plan to raise quite a few tilapia all at once, then your best bet is an outdoor heated pond. However, you also don’t want to let your tilapia population get too low. This will cause the male half of the fish species to become very territorial. A good rule of thumb is anywhere from three up to 10 fish in a 50 gallon tank or pond.
Another thing to keep in mind while you’re raising tilapia is the salinity of your water. Tilapias are a salt water fish, and they require a salinity of 16 or 20 parts per thousand. Your water quality is also very important. Although tilapia can handle more ammonia in the water than other kinds of fish can, you should water hyacinth to reduce the level of toxins in the water. You will probably also need to remove chlorine from the water by adding de-chlorination chemicals. Don’t worry about removing algae from your tilapia tank or pond. This breed of fish actually eats algae. In fact, you will want to place your pond or aquarium in direct sunlight to help the algae grow and provide additional food for your tilapia.
If you’re building an outdoor pond, then it’s very important that you prepare the pond area before you add the tilapia. Dry it completely out and remove any extra weeds from the pond. The bottom should be dry and cracked before you fill it back up with water. Layer the bottom with chicken manure to fertilize it and begin the growth of algae, which is a valuable food source for your tilapia. You will need to add more chicken manure once a month to make sure you’ve got enough algae to feed your tilapia.
Don’t forget to put some plants around your pond to offer some shade for the fish. You should also take steps to control the population. Adjusting the salinity of the pond to 10 parts per thousand is an easy way to bring numbers down if you’re in a pinch.