Farming Tilapia

The Tilapia farming in 2000 produced 1,265,800 tons tilapia meat and the market is growing fast. New farms are opened in the US and Tilapia farming is growing especially fast in Central America. A large part of the fish breed there is sold in North America. There are also a growing market between Asia and USA. The largest exporter of tilapia is Taiwan. USA and Japan are among the largest buyers of Tilapia.

Tilapia Farming basics

There are mainly three species of tilapia that are farmed on commercial tilapia farms. None of the species are true Tilapias but rather of the genus Oreochromis. Fish of the genus Oreochromis are called tilapias even though they don’t belong to the genus Tilapia. The three species that are most widely farmed are Oreochromis niloticus, O. mossambica and O. aureus. The species Oreochromis niloticus is the absolutely most common of all species found in tilapia farms. Tilapia farming uses different methods to maximize growth in the fish. Most methods are based on controlling water conditions and food supply. There are more and less complex methods. The more complex methods are more effective but also more expensive.

IT is important to keep the water quality high to optimize growth quality and the higher the fish density in the farms the harder it is to keep the water clean. If Tilapias are farmed in higher density it’s required to ad aeration to the water. A concentration over 1.5/2 Kg / 3- 4.5 lbs per square meter usually requires additional aeration.

The most important water conditions to monitor while trying tilapia farming is the concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water, the level of nitrite, the level of carbon dioxide in the water, and un-ionized ammonia nitrogen levels. Other important parameters include pH and alkalinity levels.

Tilapia farming can either be based on the farm buying young tilapia fingerlings and grow them to sellable size or they can easily breed their own stock and thereby be able to rejuvenate their fish stock themselves.

Tilapia Farming are most suitable in areas where the water temperature never sinks below 23C / 73-74F as the growth rate in Tilapia is reduced considerable below this temperature.

Tilapia farming can be combined with vegetable farming, such as tomato farming. The Tilapia can be kept in the same water the tomatoes grow in.