Tilapia fry (babies)

[helomech]

The mom keeps the fertilized eggs in her mouth until they hatch then she lets the babies in and out to protect them. Here is a video of her picking them up. We have 3 moms with babies right now. So we should have at least another 300 tilapia.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmb73T7Psmo

[Sniper-T]

Neat! thanks for that. without the explanation, the video could have been entitled "Tilapia feeding"

[helomech]

LMAO, yeah it looks like she is eating them. If someone walks up to the tank she swims around sucking up the babies.

[4suchatimeasthis]

You really have some cool stuff set up! Very nice! And yes, I too would have guessed she was eating them, lol. I guess you could say that even fish have better maternal instincts than some human mothers....

[helomech]

I guess you could say that even fish have better maternal instincts than some human mothers....


It is a shame isn't it?

[Grumpy Old Man]

That's very neat! Although, from the title I thought you might be doing a Sniper dinner porn post about cooking baby tilapias,lol.

[helomech]

That's very neat! Although, from the title I thought you might be doing a Sniper dinner porn post about cooking baby tilapias,lol.

LMAO, never occurred to me. Baby fish are called fry. They would not make much of a meal since they are about the size of a grain of rice.

[Sniper-T]

you must have FRY'd up some big ones by now though...

[helomech]

No not really, I have had some deaths, and have not determined exactly what is causing it yet. It is only in one tank and I have no idea why.

[Sniper-T]

barbed hooks?

[helomech]

barbed hooks?

No we use a net to catch them.

[Sniper-T]

have you 'autopsied' them? no visible damage? scars, marks? fins missing?

[helomech]

No visible reason for the deaths. No sores, gills are nice and bright, all fins look fine. I have changed some more things, and found 2 small metal screws above the water line in the tank that where very rusted. I have removed those and removed all plastic that is not PVC.

Here is a pic of the inside of the tank that had the deaths. There is another tank with fish and no dead and they share the same water as this tank.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii247/helomech1973/aquaponics/20121202_132843.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii247/helomech1973/aquaponics/20121202_132901.jpg

[Grumpy Old Man]

It might well have been the iron in the tank that concentrated locally before diffusing. I was going to ask if the was any other residue from its original use. My wife put one of my "neat" rock specimens in a 10 gallon tank and killed all the fish in a week- it was copper ore!

[Sniper-T]

maybe they were sacrificed by the other fish. A way to appease you, to spare them!

[helomech]

It might well have been the iron in the tank that concentrated locally before diffusing. I was going to ask if the was any other residue from its original use. My wife put one of my "neat" rock specimens in a 10 gallon tank and killed all the fish in a week- it was copper ore!

The tank was purchased new for this purpose. So nothing was in the tank first. I also put in some bass for about about 4 months before I got the tilapia and they did fine. I am hoping it was metal poisoning, and that it is over.

[helomech]

Here is a new video of our tilapia breeding in a 55 gallon inside aquarium. My wife took this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QHfoQFazJQ

[Sniper-T]

tres kewl!

tx for sharing!

[helomech]

Your welcome, we been trying to see them do it for a while now and never could catch them till a few nights ago.

[Sniper-T]

How is the market for 'Tilapia Porn'? Maybe it'll fund the rest of your preps?? That female had some pretty good suction, and was looking pretty hot with all her sleekness and flapping fins...

mmmm fish porn...

rofl!

[Grumpy Old Man]

Own up to it Sniper! You were thinking how sleek she would look with a golden brown, crispy crust with a side of tartar sauce,lol.

[Vodin]

Hello Grumpy, Snipe and Helo. Sorry I went Dark for a bit there. Either way I am back and glad to be here. Fast statement then I gotta blaze. I started an indoor Aquaponic system in my office on 12-04-12. Planted seeds and put fish in after I ran the system initially for a month. I have tomato blooms numbering about 60, 14 tomatoes, pumpkin flowers, cucumber blooms, jalapenos plants, lettuce, Cantaloupe and Honeydew plants with a bout 5 different herbs. All in a 22" growbed. : )

I have 4 Tilapia 13" each and 11 4" Gold fish ( The goldfish started at 1/4" ) I will post pics tomorrow.

AGAIN GOOD TO SEE YA!!

Vodin