# Tilapia in winter



## RNprepper

A prepper friend of mine just bought a new house that has a fish pond. Someone gave them a starter school of Tilapia a couple of months ago. However, without a way to keep them over 55 degrees, she is afraid they have probably died in the past couple of days when our temps dropped to freezing. Anyone have Tilapia? How do you keep them warm in the winter? Do you take them inside, put them in a green house, or use a heater (if so, what kind of heater?)


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## Inor

I read a story about a prepper family (I think in Phoenix?) that had turned their pool into a self-sustaining Tilapia garden. The Tilapia waste fed the plants. Some of the plants, they ate, the rest the Tilapia ate, etc. They had built a really nice little self-sustaining system. The only problem was... They had to eat Tilapia 3 times a day or the pool would over-populate and they all would die! They were complaining they could not even go out for fancy dinner for special occasions from time to time without killing off some Tilapia or the whole colony would die!


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## Rob Roy

Yea aquaponics turns over some pretty impressive results, but I never considered that drawback.

I have raised cichlids of all kinds for years, but have yet to get into tilapia...yet. I look forward to future aquaponic projects. I do know they are a south American species and are considered tropical, meaning they will not do cold water well for very long at all. 

I would strongly suggest that now, while they are small (assuming), your friend(s) should get a 55 gallon tank and bring them in the house. Alternatively, or in the future, they will want to look into a pond heater.


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## Rob Roy

Found this: "Tilapia are unable to survive in temperate climates because they require warm water. The pure strain of the blue tilapia, Oreochromis aureus, has the greatest cold tolerance and dies at 45 °F (7 °C), while all other species of tilapia will die at a range of 52 to 62 °F (11 to 17 °C)."

More found here: Tilapia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## RNprepper

Rob Roy said:


> Yea aquaponics turns over some pretty impressive results, but I never considered that drawback.
> 
> I have raised cichlids of all kinds for years, but have yet to get into tilapia...yet. I look forward to future aquaponic projects. I do know they are a south American species and are considered tropical, meaning they will not do cold water well for very long at all.
> 
> I would strongly suggest that now, while they are small (assuming), your friend(s) should get a 55 gallon tank and bring them in the house. Alternatively, or in the future, they will want to look into a pond heater.


So there is such a thing as a pond heater? I will google it. A 55 gal tank would be way too small. I image they could keep them in a deeper size kiddy pool with aerator. I could see them in Phoenix, but Tucson is considerably cooler than Phoenix, especially since they live away from heat radiating asphalt.


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## RNprepper

Just read a post on another site where the person harvests the fish in the late fall, winters over 6 breeders in a 40 gal tank indoors, releases the fingerlings in the spring, and harvests 1.5 pound fish in 8 months. Then starts the cycle all over again. It might be what my friend will have to do. Trying the heat a pond all winter would be astronomically expensive.


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## James m

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatf...r-coming-cold-weather-pond-prep/#.VHV856NOnFo

That's the best I found. They have something called a deicer too. Because if it freezes over there is no air exchange.


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## RNprepper

James m said:


> Winter is Coming - Cold Weather Pond Prep
> 
> That's the best I found. They have something called a deicer too. Because if it freezes over there is no air exchange.


Thanks, James. I think the deicers are just that - they keep the water from freezing, but that's it. It's a big step from 33 degrees to 65 degrees. Thanks, though.


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## tirednurse

she could lay a clear plastic over the pond and it would act to heat the water during the day like it would a green house. I have no idea how large the pond is but I know that they make a special cover for swimming pools that kind of looks like bubble wrap. It is designed to float on the water and heats the water and keeps it warm. the water would slowly cool off over night but if it is a large enough body of water it may stay warm enough to keep them alive until it begins to heat up again when the sun hits the next day.


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## GutBag

I saw online that you can use trout for colder water aquaponics, tilapia for warmer water? I just heard about the stuff, watched a few videos, so I don't know a lot about it beyond that (and the fact that I could fish at home.)

Is anyone running an aquaponics system? There was another thread about it in another part of the forum.


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## csi-tech

Catfish seem to survive everything.


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## paraquack

Electric heater out of a dead hot tub?


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## Dubyagee

100 foot of black tubing and a pump to use the sun. This would create a warm spot in the pond during the day. Compost heater would do it all day. It will take an average of 1 watt per gallon to heat the pond.


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## Prepadoodle

It depends on how big the pond is and how deep.

I had a solar heated pool, and had a floating blanket for it. This was sort of like heavy-duty bubble wrap, and not only kept in the heat, but acted like a little greenhouse on sunny days. If the pond is small enough, it's something to consider.

If it's deep enough, the deepest parts should stay more or less the same temperature as the ground, which is something like 55-60 degrees. In Tucson, 3 or 4 feet might be deep enough.

You could also make a small flat plate collector, get a small circulating pump and power it with a solar panel. This would be maybe $300 or so, but it would be a one time cost and last for years.


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## paraquack

Since air/oxygen diffuses into the water thru the surface of the water, I would be careful with using a solar blanket on the pond 24/7. Just like with ice, the oxygen level is going to go down. Since the fish aren't going to be in icy water, their oxygen need is still going to be kind of high compared to fish in 33-36 degree water under the ice.


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## 7052

paraquack said:


> Electric heater out of a dead hot tub?


I was going to suggest the same thing.


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