In an effort to find a safe and cost-effective alternative to chemical weed control in local ponds, the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with Baltic, Ohio's Fender's Fish Hatchery, hosted our annual spring Tilapia Sale.
Tilapia are a freshwater fish in the family cichlidae that prefer shallow ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. The tilapia is a fish that can survey a wide range of conditions (even in high salinity waters) and are able to adapt to a diversity of diets due to their
pharyngeal jaw structure. Incredibly, these fish grow at a rapid pace and are prolific breeders. Due to tilapia being easy to keep and cheap to feed, the industry of aquaculture has turned much of their attention to this fish over the last 40 years.
As efficient as these fish are, one might fear that stocking their pond with tilapia might lead to an inevitable takeover. Fear not, as the tilapia is a tropical species, they require water temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit to survive. As water temperatures rise in the spring, the tilapia feed and grow throughout the summer. Once fall temperatures plummet so will the condition of the tilapia, unlike our native fish species, meaning that your biological vegetation control is self-limited. It is a popular practice to harvest the fish from your pond in the fall as to not make waste of a valuable protein source.
Fender's Fish Hatchery sells tilapia by the pound (5-6 fish/lbs.) and recommends a stocking rate of 5 lbs./.25 acres. As an example, a pond with a surface area of .75 acres would need to stock 15 lbs. of tilapia from the hatchery.
This spring the residents of Morrow County ordered 150 lbs. of tilapia for stocking. The fish were delivered to the Headwaters Outdoor Education Center on the morning of June 6th, 2024. Fish are packaged in containers, supplied by customers, lined with an un-scented plastic liner and filled 1/3 of the water with the destination pond water. Once the fish are introduced to the container oxygen is added to the liner and is tied-off for transport. When purchasing fish in this fashion it is important to get them to your pond as soon as possible.
Another option for a biological vegetation control is the white amur, a sterile carp that is also offered during the spring Tilapia Sale each year. These carp are capable of surviving Ohio's frigid, winter temperatures, and therefore, do not have to be fished out in the fall. White amurs are capable of living upwards of 20-years and reaching 4 feet in length, however will need a few years, if purchased from the hatchery, to become effective at managing vegetation. The recommended stocking rate for the white amur is 2-3 individuals for every .25 acre of surface area.
Order forms for the 2025 Tilapia Sale will be produced in March of next year.
In the meantime, if you have stocking needs you can download the Morrow Soil and Water, or reach out to us at (419) 946-7923.
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