Tilapia farming requires you to monitor the growth pattern of the tilapia in your farm. Tilapia farming requires you to understand the relationship between the weight gain of the tilapia, the quality of the feed provided to the tilapia, and the conditions within which the tilapia are kept. Despite the fact that many beginner to tilapia farming may take the approach of simply stocking their farm with tilapia and scattering feed to attract the tilapia, tilapia farming is actualy a highly predictable process if visual reference are used to monitor the growth of the tilapia.
By using visual references for tilapia farming effort, tilapia farmers can intervene in their tilapia farming process early should the tilapia not be gaining their expected weights, and tilapia farmers can make the timeline for tilapia growth less mysterious. The early weeks of tilapia growth are especially important for the tilapia, and they are particularly important in that their growth during these early weeks matters more to the tilapia than many people may expect. Tilapia that are still small require meal that contain high levels of protein, and feeding these small tilapia insufficient amount of food will prevent them from ever reaching there genetic growth potential.
Tilapia Farming: Feed, Water, Health and Harvest
Providing excess feed to tilapia, however, creates waste, and the excess feed in the water can foul the water and lead to the tilapia developing disease. The size of the particles of the feed and the protein percentage of that feed should be adjusted according to the size of the tilapia, and tilapia farmers should make such adjustment daily as the tilapia grow. In tilapia farming, temperature and the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water are the most important variable to control.
Tilapia are warm water fish species, and the metabolism of tilapia increase dramatically with increases in water temperature. If the temperature of the water in which tilapia live is too cool, they will fail to convert their food into flesh efficient. If the water temperature increases too much, however, the levels of dissolved oxygen in that water will decrease; too much stress for tilapia result from low levels of dissolved oxygen in their water.
Therefore, tilapia farmers must ensure that water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels are stable, and that this factor is more important than any perfect number in relation to tilapia growth. There are many different varieties of tilapia, each of which have different characteristics to their species. The characteristics of tilapia that are important to note include their tolerance of various levels of salinity in their water, their ability to survive in cooler temperature, and the market value of their species.
For instance, Nile tilapia grow quickly, but are sensitive to many different water condition. Mozambique tilapia are able to tolerate saltier water than other tilapia species. Blue tilapia can survive in cooler temperature than other tilapia species.
Finally, red tilapia (hybrids) have a higher market value than other tilapia species, but tend to require more time to reach the same weights. The general method in which tilapia are farmed (whether in earthen ponds or tanks) will impact the amount of management requirement of the tilapia farmer. Earthen ponds often contain natural algae that contribute to the diet of the tilapia, reducing feed cost for the farmer.
However, earthen ponds have a limit to the number of tilapia that can be contained within them. Tanks allow for higher density of tilapia to be kept, but the tilapia farmer is required to monitor the tanks for dissolved oxygen and ammonia constant. Earthen ponds are often the starting point in tilapia farming operation, and later may be replaced with tanks or aeration systems after tilapia farmers have gained experience in tilapia farming operations.
Many of the disease that affect tilapia species are the result of specific environmental problem. For instance, if the tanks in which tilapia are raised become overcrowded, if the water in those tanks is not exchanged regularly, or if the temperature of the water fluctuate suddenly, the tilapia may develop disease. These problem can be prevented by maintaining steady levels of oxygen in the water and avoiding overstocking of tilapia tanks.
Additionally, if tilapia farmers notice the presence of white spot on the tilapia or frayed fin in the fish, those sign indicate that the tilapia may be suffering from a disease; recognizing these disease early in the life of tilapia can allow tilapia farmers to treat the tilapia with salt and temperature adjustment before they become lethargic. The timing of the harvest of tilapia from a tilapia farm can have a major impact upon the profit or loss that is experienced by the tilapia farmer. If tilapia are harvested too early in their lives, they will not have attained the full weight of tilapia that could of been achieved.
If tilapia are left in the tanks for too long, however, the tilapia will eat the feed that is provided to them but gain little in the way of weight; the increased biomass of the tilapia in the tanks will also increase the risk of disease. To avoid these outcome, tilapia farmers should monitor the weight of tilapia each day. When the daily weight gain of tilapia begins to flatten, tilapia farmers should stop tilapia farming, and they should stop providing feed to the tilapia one or two days prior to the planned harvest of tilapia from those tanks.
This stopping of feed will ensure the tilapia gut is cleared of any remaining feed prior to harvest, which increases the quality of the tilapia processing operation. Overall, tilapia farming cycle require six to eight months to complete. Within these six to eight month, two crop of tilapia may be grown each year in regions with consistent climate and temperature, though small mistake may compound over these period.
By farming tilapia, though, individual will gain an understanding of the species, and the tilapia will teach the tilapia farmer more about tilapia farming than a chart ever could. After tilapia farmers understand the tilapia, the number will provide feedback about the health of the tilapia population.
