raising tilapia

sykofrenic

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 12, 2008
129
0
16
ca
is it possible to obtain and raise tilapia in california? i want to start an aquaculture project with tilapia, and grow them for food, but i'm not sure if its legal to do in cali. does anyone have any experience with tilapia? i've been reading about it online, and it seems fairly easy to breed them. does anyone know where to get them from/how much they cost?
thanks for the help
 

TheFishJunky

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 10, 2008
1,993
1
36
Jersey
idk about laws-I usually dont follow them well anyway:Dbut I got your 1st free tilapia if ya want it.
 

Dr Joe

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2006
10,664
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Sixty Miles South of Tampa Florida
sykofrenic:

"In California, Tilapia is only permitted to be grown south of the Tehachepe mountains. The species allowed is O. Mossambicus as it is considered indigenous, having been planted in the mid-1960s in irrigation channels to fight the invasion of the waterway-clogging hydrilla weed. The tilapia slowly found their way to the Salton Sea, and thrived in its saline waters. Over time, due to agricultural runoff, the Salton sea has become hyper-saline, limiting the survivability of the Tilapia found therein."

You may be able to get a waiver/permit for other's but it's going to be a hassle. And they will inspect you set-up / property.

I have extensive experience with Tilapia.

What kind of budget do you have?

What type of set up do you have in mind?

Amount of Tilapia you want to produce & time frame.

Is this for personal use?

Skill level?

Land available?

Water available? (well, artesian well, river etc.)

itsbadlands nice offers don't make up for poor judgment.

Dr Joe

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ECarbonel

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 26, 2007
927
52
61
pick some up at 99 ranch market and throw them in ur pond hopefully they spawn thats what I'm going to try
 

sykofrenic

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 12, 2008
129
0
16
ca
Dr Joe;2661045; said:
sykofrenic:

In California, Tilapia is only permitted to be grown south of the Tehachepe mountains. The species allowed is O. Mossambicus as it is considered indigenous, having been planted in the mid-1960s in irrigation channels to fight the invasion of the waterway-clogging hydrilla weed. The tilapia slowly found their way to the Salton Sea, and thrived in its saline waters. Over time, due to agricultural runoff, the Salton sea has become hyper-saline, limiting the survivability of the Tilapia found therein.

i found that in the DFG regs too, but the thing is, they dont even spell Tehachepe correctly. the mountains they are refering to are "Tehachapi" and they are in the middle of nowhere in by bakersfield. im in humboldt county, escaped tilapia wouldnt even survive the water temperatures here, so i dont know what to think about that statement :(

this would be a personal consumption kind of thing, i have a friend who has an aquaculture lisc. who wants to give me an aquaculture tub and filter for free. he thinks there could be about 30 adults living in the tub he has. im a college student, so i dont have a huge ammount to spend on this project, but i have experience with all kinds of aquarium fish, and have been successful in breeding small cichlids and danios. i use RO water in my tanks for all water changes, only occasionally will i top off tanks with tap water (with water conditioner). i rent a house with my boyfriend, and we have a shed in the backyard that has power, we were thinking about maybe putting it in there to protect it from ravens. but the house is on an acre lot and i have a big covered deck i could put the tub on. i also have a 55 gallon tank that will be empty in the next few months, i thought i might be able to breed the tilapia in that, then put them in the tub outside when they got a few inches long.

let me know what you think. thanks
 

TheFishJunky

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 10, 2008
1,993
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Jersey
Dr Joe,dont take me so "literal" I was only using some humor......sheesh!But imo,if you were to grow tilapia for your own personal food-why would that be a problem?Its not for sale in an open market so if its on your own property and for your own food-but then again.....not worth it if its gonna land you in jail or cause you to pay fines.in any case,best of luck with your plans.That would be really kool for you to have an unlimited supply of food in the future.
 

King Edward

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
I was on a tilapia farm the other day. I was suprised how low tech it was. The water here is exceptionally soft and they dont add anything to harden it. They were saying their fish were very hardy, they literally have big fiberglass tubs with an airline and a big homemade wet dry (2m high). Tubs must have been 500 gallons with massive tilapia and 3 ft clarius cats underneath them... They were breeding them in little 2ft tanks...some of the fish were over 2ft!I couldnt believe it...I haqve more kit and I'm ghetto! It was very productive though, and the fish health side of things was unreal...acres of labs!!!

My first batch of fish are reaching eating size now, but I made a fatal mistake...I started small, three species and one or two of each...now they are pets.... Gonna order some tillapia, a load, at once and keep em outside next time...

Search google for aquaponics hq...they are aussies who are into home food production. They have a wealth of knowledge and helped me get my first system running.

And of course listen to the good Dr.... He 'da MAN!
 

sykofrenic

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 12, 2008
129
0
16
ca
the problem is that tilapia are not native to california, and could be a potentially invasive species. the state always worrys about that kind of stuff because there are a lot of irresponsible jackasses out there who could easily throw some fish in a local lake or river. then they could have a new problem like the carp one. thats why the state would have to check things out...
 

blue_francis14

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2008
15
0
0
Baguio
Just curious, what will you feed tilapia? Here in the Philippines, we feed them commercially available algae or "lumot". Some tilapia farmers feed them with animal feed. Yeah, they eat everything but they'd taste too fishy.

I was a bit surprised that someone here is going to raise tilapia. Anyway, good luck raising them. They are delcious when salted and fried, grilled and I forgot what to call it in english, sinigang.

Since you're in California, ask some filipinos on how to gut and cook tilapia. :)
 

Dr Joe

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2006
10,664
9
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Sixty Miles South of Tampa Florida
sykofrenic, check with your Agricultural extension office and the Local fish & Game for the last word on legalities of them.

From the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commision...

"Potential Concerns - Prohibited due to their proven ability to establish large thriving populations in Florida. All species of Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Tilapia are prohibited, except O. aureus, O hornorum, O. mossambica and O. nilotica, which were requested for use in the aquaculture industry under strict permit criteria are listed as restricted (not prohibited). Tilapia are second only to carp in worldwide production via aquaculture for food and also occur in the aquarium trade. Blue tilapia (O. aureus) may be possessed in much of Florida without a permit."

Nice informative article... http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA012

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itsbadlands it's so hard to see a person's expression in print :D, so we have to take it a face value :(, as there are some who would rather lean that way thinking they have supporters.:screwy:

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King Edward so kind, now where are the update pix of your pets?:ROFL:

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blue_francis14 there is special Tilapia food available here (and in other countries who do Tilapia aquaculture) in 50 lb bags for commercial use. Check Purina for one of their 'chows'.

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Feeding time can be very impressive with even a small group. Nothing like a group of koi, these things will climb out of the water over each other to get the food! :nilly:

Try catching some wild (if possible) and cooking them first, the reason being wild caught are have a muddier taste to them even if you skin them.
Aquaculture'd fish are "rinsed" in clear fresh water for ~10 days with fasting to rid them of most of this favor... A problem for backyard aquaculturalists.

Have you checked back threads on this here?

Dr Joe

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