Tilapia fingerlings and tilapia breeding colonies for sale
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Tilapia fingerlings for sale
Tilapia fingerlings are not clones! A mistake often made by aquaponics growers, who tend see plants as copies of each other, is believing that all tilapia are generally created equally. But nothing could be further from the truth. Every tilapia, even within the same species, has unique traits that set it apart as an individual. One characteristic that is of particular importance to both aquaponics and aquaculture, is what is known as the rate of growth. As each tilapia fry is hatched into this world, its own unique rate of growth has already been coded into its DNA. In every brood, there are tilapia that have the potential to grow to 20 ounces in six months, as well as tilapia that will barely get to three ounces in the same amount of time.
Problems can arise when tilapia of different growth rates are kept together. The larger tilapia will dominate the smaller ones for control over food. This causes the average and small sized tilapia to adapt by suppressing their appetites, which further inhibits their growth and may lead to stunted growth, a condition which makes them permanently small. We solve these problems by sorting our tilapia fingerlings into three grades: Food Grade™, Aquaponics Grade™, and Pond Grade™. When the top five percent from a single brood of tilapia fingerlings grow to a size of one inch or more we grade each tilapia and then group them together with others that share similar growth characteristics.
When you buy tilapia fingerlings from us, you can choose from these three different rates of growth to suit your harvest needs. If you are interested in finding out more about sorting tilapia by rate of growth, and how growth rates affect the efficiency of your tilapia farm, visit our Tilapia Fingerling Grading page on our main website. And of course, all of our tilapia fingerlings have been inspected. They are disease and hormone free and they have not been genetically modified in any way. Our Blues and Niles are certified pure strain and our Wami hybrids come from pure strain parents.
Pure strain Blue tilapia fingerlings
Maximum temperature: 106º F
Minimum temperature: 47º F
Minimum oxygen level: 7ppm
Known in some parts of the world as "St. Peters Fish", after the bible story of Jesus sending Apostle Peter to look into the mouth of the first fish he caught for a coin to pay the temple tax, our Blue tilapia fingerlings are identical to the ones swimming in the Sea Of Galilee over two thousand years ago. They can grow to over nine pounds and 24 inches in length. In the wild, Blue tilapia live comfortably in water ranging from 60º F to 86º F but they can tolerate water as warm as 106º F and as cold as 47º F for short periods of time. Blue tilapia are by far the most temperature forgiving of all the tilapia species, making them perfect for multi-year growing in areas where winter pond temperatures are a concern.
Please note that our Food Grade Blue tilapia fingerlings are selected for their fast growth and as a result there are very few females. If you are looking for a more even mix of males and females, try our Aquaponics Grade or unsorted Blue fry.
Our Aquaponics Grade blue tilapia have a more staggered growth rate to help maintain nitrifying bacteria in aquaponics systems. They can all be eaten and will eventually reach a harvestable weight. They are also a good mix of males and females for those wanting to try their hand at breeding. Please note that we typically ship Aquaponics Grade as large fry around three quarters of an inch.
Pond Grade tilapia are at the other end of the spectrum from their Food Grade siblings. These are the slow-growing runts. They will not grow to a harvestable size in a single season, it will take them much longer. They are however perfect little algae-eaters for any pond owner trying to stay away from dangerous herbicides to control algae blooms. They are also predominantly female, which means that the few males there are will have their work cut out for them reproducing!
High Springs Hybrid™ (Wami) tilapia fingerlings
Maximum temperature: 106º F
Minimum temperature: 60º F
Minimum oxygen level: 5ppm
Our predominantly-male Wami hybrid tilapia fingerlings are the natural result of crossing a pure strain High Back Hornorum™ (Wami) male tilapia with a pure strain High Back Mozambique™ female tilapia. The Wami species develops slightly more testosterone than the Mozambique does estrogen and when these two spawn the resulting offspring develop as an all natural solution to those desiring predominantly-male tilapia without having to resort to the use of hormone laced food. These hybrids also inherit an improved body shape from their High Back parents and exhibit a growth characteristic knows as "hybrid vigor" which can result in higher weight gain in the same amount of time as pure strain species.
Please note that the picture above is of the predecessor to the High Back Hybrid known as the Pennyfish Hybrid™ also developed by famed Aquaculturist Mike Sipe. In 2016 Mike awarded Lakeway Tilapia as the sole hatchery for the High Springs Hybrid. The current hybrid ranges in color from solid orange to solid black to solid white with every possible mix of those colors in between. We will update the picture soon.
Pure strain Nile tilapia fingerlings
Maximum temperature: 108º F
Minimum temperature: 56º F
Minimum oxygen level: 3ppm
Nile tilapia have been farmed in Egypt for over five thousand years. They have their own hieroglyph and are depicted in the frescos, carvings, and scarabs found in several ancient Egyptian tombs. Nile tilapia fingerlings can grow to be as large as 24 inches. They live naturally in water temperatures ranging from 56 to 91º F, but they can survive in water temperatures as high as 108º F.
Nile tilapia are the most commonly farmed tilapia in the tropical regions of the world, and a popular choice with aquaponic farmers in the U.S. We do not recommend Nile tilapia for commercial aquaculture or aquaponics outside of the gulf coast or the Florida peninsula, due their increased cost to maintain in colder winter climates, and their slower growth when compared to Wami hybrids.
Tilapia fry for sale
Save money with unsorted tilapia fry. Since tilapia fry can't be graded for size or rate of growth, we offer them at a price that reflects our time savings. For those of you who want to stagger or delay the introduction of tilapia fingerlings into your ponds, keeping tilapia fry on hand is a great way to ensure that you'll have new tilapia stock ready to go when you are. Tilapia fry will only grow as fast as you feed them and you can actually regulate their development a bit by feeding more or less per day. Just make sure that you always give enough food to allow for some growth, and not completely stop it. If you have questions about raising tilapia fry, please contact us and we'll be happy to teach you everything you need to know.
Pure strain Blue tilapia fry
Pure strain Nile tilapia fry
Tilapia breeding colonies for sale
Tilapia breeding colonies are the way to go for anyone who wants to raise their tilapia from scratch. We only sell young compatible tilapia that will typically begin to produce fingerlings within a few weeks of their arrival. You can keep breeding colonies in 55 gallon aquariums for several months, if you carefully control their food intake so that they don't outgrow their home. If you're curious about to expect when your tilapia breeding colony arrives, we've made the YouTube video above to show you.
We strongly urge you to read our Tilapia Breeding Guide on our main website at LakewayTilapia.com before you purchase any breeding colony.
Pure strain Blue tilapia breeding colonies
Minimum breeding temp: 68º F
Optimal breeding pH level: 8.0
Blue tilapia breeding colonies consist of six fish: one male and five females. The scientific name for Blue tilapia is Oreochromis aureus. Other names for Blue tilapia are Israeli tilapia and St. Peters Fish. They are native to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the rivers of the Jordan Valley, the Lower Nile River, and the Chad Basin. The largest on record was 24 inches long weighing 9.6 pounds. See the full story here.
The prices below include free shipping and handling. A $108 value per breeding colony!
Wami hybrid tilapia breeding colonies
Minimum breeding temp: 68º F
Optimal breeding pH level: 8.0
This is the same breeding colony that we use to produce the High Springs Hybrid. It consists of one High Back Hornorum male and five High Back Orange Mozambique females. It will produce predominantly male offspring.
The prices below include free shipping and handling. A $108 value per breeding colony!
Pure strain Nile tilapia breeding colonies
Minimum breeding temp: 68º F
Optimal breeding pH level: 8.0
Nile tilapia breeding colonies consist of six fish: one male and five females. The scientific name for Nile tilapia is Oreochromis niloticus. Nile tilapia were pond farmed in ancient Egypt and live naturally in the warm waters of Africa.
The prices below include free shipping and handling. A $108 value per colony!
