do you guys have any idea what type of tilapia is sold as spa fish a local store has some the fish have a lot of variability as some were black others light brown both had lots of red in the fins. dont have any pics but how big do they get how do they spawn ph required tank size how do you sex any help would be appreciated thanks
talapia Q
- Thread starter Aphilophus
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Aphilophus;2430884; said:
How would you like to be nibbled on by hundreds of reddish log sucker fish, hungry to devour your dead skin cells?
Spas in Turkey, the middle east, Japan and China feature Garra Rufa, also known as doctor fish, a species of fish that live in hot water. These fish consume dead skin cells directly off the bodies of people bathing in the hot spring, leaving living skin intact. This can be used as a treatment for skin diseases such as psoriasis, or it can simply work as a hi-profile skin cleansing. These spas are becoming increasingly popular. The procedure is painless; some would even say the process causes a pleasant, tingling sensation.
Wikipedia says, The term doctor fish is the name given to two species of fish (Garra rufa, discussed here, and Cyprinion macrostomus). They live and breed in outdoor pools of some Turkish spas, where they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis. The fish are like combfishes in that they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow, with the outdoor location of the treatment bringing beneficial effects. The spas are not meant as a treatment option, only as a temporary cure for symptoms, and patients usually revisit the spas every few months. Some patients have experienced complete cure of psoriasis after repeated treatments, but due to the unpredictable nature of the disease, which is strongly influenced by endogenous factors, this may simply be regression towards the mean.
The nicknames nibble fish, kangal fish, and doctorfishen are commonly applied to both species of doctor fish. Outside the medical context, Garra rufa is called reddish log sucker. -- do you mean these spa fish??
Liz ~ that is some great info! I think I would have a very difficult time getting into a pool like that (not because of the fish) but because of all that bacteria from others. Just my opinion 
Hi!
First post here. It's nice to meet you all.
Originally, there were 3 types of Tilapia, Nile, Mozambique, and O. aureus. They have been hybridized a bajillion different ways, and now getting a true line of any one species is really unlikely.
Mozambique tilapia are dark colored, aureus have a blue color and red on the ends of the fils, and Nile are white to red colored. I'll see if I can post a pic of mine..
-ellie
O. aureus has the
First post here. It's nice to meet you all.
Originally, there were 3 types of Tilapia, Nile, Mozambique, and O. aureus. They have been hybridized a bajillion different ways, and now getting a true line of any one species is really unlikely.
Mozambique tilapia are dark colored, aureus have a blue color and red on the ends of the fils, and Nile are white to red colored. I'll see if I can post a pic of mine..
-ellie
O. aureus has the
Hybrid Tilapia*
These are the breeding stock and the younglings for my aquaponics system. I'm having to overwinter them inside because of the outdoor temps, and they are terribly overcrowded in this tank. I'm trying to get an IBC for them (a 1000 liter pallet-sized cube-shaped plastic tank), but haven't had any luck yet. This picture makes it look really bad, because they all huddled up front looking for food.
The big one in the upper left will be on a plate soon. Sad, yes... but tasty. Another one a little smaller than that has started turning red and building a nest. Usually that happens a couple of weeks before the fry appear.
* The observant may notice a finger-sized yellow cichlid hanging out in there. She came with the tank, and gets along pretty well with the tilapia.
-ellie
These are the breeding stock and the younglings for my aquaponics system. I'm having to overwinter them inside because of the outdoor temps, and they are terribly overcrowded in this tank. I'm trying to get an IBC for them (a 1000 liter pallet-sized cube-shaped plastic tank), but haven't had any luck yet. This picture makes it look really bad, because they all huddled up front looking for food.
The big one in the upper left will be on a plate soon. Sad, yes... but tasty. Another one a little smaller than that has started turning red and building a nest. Usually that happens a couple of weeks before the fry appear.
* The observant may notice a finger-sized yellow cichlid hanging out in there. She came with the tank, and gets along pretty well with the tilapia.
-ellie
Sex: The males usually puff up their fins to look bigger, the females are much more submissive. For breeding, the male builds a nest.. (Mine will remove all of the rocks from 1/3 of the tank and spit them into walls. They do their thing and the female carries the eggs in her mouth until the fry are old enough to fend for themselves. The males are territorial about the nest and the fish they don't chase away is the mommy. They breed _a lot_ when the water is warm. Like rabbits, except rabbits don't have hundreds per litter.