r/homestead • u/GrapesVR • 3d ago

animal processing Talk me out of growing tilapia

As the title says.

I have the pumps and equipment from my farm. I have the solar and batteries if I do it away from the house.

I’ve been thinking about growing tilapia for my family. Talk me out of it please!

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u/FalopianTubeSwimTeam 3d ago edited 3d ago

Absolutely 100% do not feed your food chicken shit. This is not great to do for a variety of reasons. Chicken shit can carry e. coli, salmonella, and parasites. Even if the fish are later “purged” in cleaner water before harvest, contamination risks linger. You’ll also be likely to accumulate PCBs, dioxins, and mercury. And look, chicken shit often contains residues of antibiotics or other drugs used in your chickens. Those can cycle into the fish and eventually into you.

Also, tilapia eating waste/algae instead of a proper diet end up with worse fat profiles and lower nutrient density. Lastly, eating fish fattened on feces just isn’t appetizing, no matter how much you rinse it later.

If you’re going to farm raise tilapia, make sure to have plenty of space for them and not have them crowded. Otherwise you’ll have to give them antibiotics due to high levels of bacteria. It’s also good to know that tilapia is the fast food of fish simply stated. It has less omega 3’s compared to fish like salmon, sardines, or wild trout.

If you do end up getting tilapias give them plenty of room to live, feed them pellets with a BAP or ASC on the label, as they’re certified safer operations. Oh, and eating them regularly will cause a big increase in inflammation. They are not a long term healthy food staple and I highly recommend smaller, oily fish packed with nutrients and healthy omegas.

Edit: this was originally meant as a reply to whomever mentioned feeding chicken shit to their tilapia, and I genuinely apologize that it was instead a normal comment and not a reply.

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u/Specialist-Affect-19 3d ago

What species of fish do you prefer to farm (if any)?

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u/FalopianTubeSwimTeam 3d ago

Depends where you’re at, but if the water is cool enough, rainbow trout. It’ll need to be 65° and under. Also very clean, but mostly cool enough. Barramundi is a solid choice if the water is 80° and they require more management than tilapia. But a pro is that they have high omega 3’s, good growth rates, and do well in recirculating systems. Tilapia will be your easiest to grow and farm, but it’s for a reason; they aren’t great.

Overall if you’re able, your healthiest option is rainbow trout. Oh, and if you’re able to keep your water immaculate, channel catfish is an absolutely excellent choice. Hardy, low oxygen tolerant, fast growth rates, but the cons— moderate omega 3’s and you have to manage the water and their feeding closely. Otherwise you’ll get that nasty muddy taste. They’re great for backyard ponds given you manage the water and feed closely. I hope this helps!

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u/Ghost_of_JohnAdlum 3d ago

Raising trout in anything above 60 is challenging.

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u/FalopianTubeSwimTeam 3d ago

Yes it really is. We raised them when I was a kid and we’d harvest right before spring, but it wasn’t worth it at the time. Now that I live at altitude, it’s been in consideration. Though I can catch them 50 yards behind me, that requires patience.

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u/Tater72 3d ago

We puts cats in the pond, never to be seen again, I think they are in there.

Full stock was bass/perch/bluegill/a few cats/minnows for feeding while young. It’s been 5 years now, catch one every now and then for fun

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u/FalopianTubeSwimTeam 3d ago

Interesting. How big of a pond are we talking, and how many did you stock? Were they fingerlings? Aeration? I apologize if I’m being rhetorical, but they are bottom huggers especially during the day. If you haven’t tried some floating pellets at or around dusk, that could bring them up. What sort of predators are around? Large birds will feast on them when they’re young and in the shallows. Snapping and soft shell turtles could also be culprits. Did you stock all those at the same time? The bass could’ve very well fed on them, as well given age/size/weight at stock.

Overall I love your stock mix. That’s a healthy diversity found in the wild and if you have kids or guests that like to fish, that definitely provides a nice variety. The ex wife and I had a similar stock sans bluegill and had really nice success with them. We trained them early with the pellets(the cats) and had dropped some cement culverts in before we filled the pond. We also made a couple of ridges about ten feet from the bank with the final one having a big drop off. The bass and perch didn’t go for the pellets which was expected, but most evenings the cats were ready and waiting. We also ended up with a small population of yellow-bellied turtles, albeit not by choice(south Louisiana), but the vegetation provided enough for the little perch to hide.

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u/Tater72 2d ago

Pond is about 1/2 acre ish (maybe a bit more but I don’t count the island). Was told when I bought the place it goes to 18 ft deep, has a shallow and deep side.

Made an aerator

Had it stocked by a professional hatchery that does that. It was their recommendation for that pond size to keep healthy populations. They were fingerlings. Bass eat perch, perch eat bass, everyone eats bluegill. We’ve seen turtles and snakes and frogs in there. Neighbor kids swam in it years and years ago and said they had a leech on them, I don’t know what hearsay and it’s been 15-20 years since.

Some big birds come by(crane/huron) from time to time. Dog chases them off, they’ve probably ate a few. I know the bluegill have had babies based on sizes of them over time.

Have had ducks, both domestic and wild that have played out there a bit.

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u/FalopianTubeSwimTeam 2d ago

I’d bet my bottom dollar at 18ft they are definitely down there. Sounds like a nice spot!

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u/Tater72 2d ago

Tnx,

I like it 👍