Raising Tilapia: Pick You Breeders

One of the key choices in raising tilapia is picking your breed of fish. There are three main species of tilapia to choose from: T. Hornorum Hybrids, Blue Tilapia, and Red Nile Tilapia. Let's look at some pros and cons of the three.

Blue Tilapia: Blue Tilapia are considered by many to be one of the best tasting fish on the planet! But wait; there's a catch, Blue Tilapia also are some of the slowest growing fish ever. So it's all about what you want. 

Red Nile Tilapia: Well, Red Tilapia are some of the fastest growing fish out there. But again, there's yet another catch - Red Nile Tilapia are considered Trash Food and do not taste good. Darn!

T. Hornorum: These fish are very special in that they produce only males, which speeds up production a lot! As I have been looking for a catch for a long time I haven't found one yet. So I would really recommend these Hybrids to you if you are about to start up a small scale fish operation.

~Enos Fenn the Tilapia Dude 

Why Raise Tilapia: They Grow FAST!!!!

There are many reasons to raise tilapia. Today we are going to look at one reason; tilapia grow very rapidly.

Let's take blue tilapia hybrids. (Hybrids have all male babies without the use of testosterone.) It is common to only want male fry because the male tilapia grows faster and reaches a larger size than the female. If you want really large tilapia, You don't want more than 4 percent of your fish female.

In the right environment with an adequate supply of nutrition, it is possible for 50 gram fingerlings to become 500 gram fishes within 6 months. This means an average growth rate of 2.5 grams per day. So, in only 200 days, you can be harvesting 1 pound fish.

Anyone who has ever grown fish will tell you that 200 days to 1 pound is really fast!!!