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  1. #1
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    Menacing blackness on belly of tilapia!

    So a somewhat menacing looking blackness has developed on some of my tilapia. Here are two images of one of them:





    The back story is as follows:

    I was running an aquaponic system in my yard this summer with about 120 red bellied tilapia split between two 100 gallon bins with a 100 gallon sump and ~ 1000 gallons DWC plant bed. Unfortunately about a month ago my roommate decided to clean the system, but didn't follow through, leaving things stirred up with very little water flow. By morning, there were a number of dead fish, and I continued to pull out dead/dying ones over the next 10 days. They appeared to have contracted saprolegnia, as they (the dead/dying ones) had white cotton like fluffs protruding from their skins.

    After it was all said and done, I had about 40 fish left, all of whom seemed healthy and showing no symptoms of the fluff, so I decided to move them to an indoor aquarium, a 55-gallon tank with a fluval u4 submersible filter, a heater (keeps us around 80), and plenty of air/turbulence.

    I am well aware that 40 tilapia in 55 gallon tank is very much a short term solution, but I intend to try my hand at breeding out 3 or 4 pairs of them and I have yet to try and identify the genders. But that's an aside. The tank is rather clean and everyone appears healthy and eating.

    Everyone except a few, that is. I noticed when bringing them indoors a couple weeks back that some of them have a black underlining on their bellys. It is very pronounced in only a few of the fish (say about 5), and does not appear to be spreading between fish. I was not able to find anything like this on the internet, and a very knowledgeable aquaculturist friend of mine didn't know what it was either. Perhaps someone here can help? What is this stuff, and should I be worried?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Menacing blackness on belly of tilapia!

    Bummer RGN....sorry to hear of your fish loss...


    Sorry....I don't see your pictures.
    I use photobucket, then copy and paste the IMG code.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  3. #3
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    Re: Menacing blackness on belly of tilapia!

    You can't see the pictures? They are displaying fine for me.
    Here are the links:
    http://s17.postimg.org/6y06lkike/DSC_1798.jpg
    http://s10.postimg.org/k1czi5zqw/DSC_1804.jpg

  4. #4
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    Re: Menacing blackness on belly of tilapia!

    I can only see one pic (2nd), but it looks more like breeding colors of a male fish than disease to me. I'm not familiar with red belly tilapia, but I've bred many cichlids from Africa, Central and South America, and the black markings on the chin and belly are fairly common in males that are ready for courtship and battling it out with rivals.
    Jason M.

  5. #5
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Menacing blackness on belly of tilapia!

    Thanks for posting the links Ethan....those worked. In your 1st post, I only saw the word 'image' twice...(?)

    Sounds like jvision has figured it out...
    I know I'm always amazed by how much my 'blue' tilapia can change colors.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

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