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dsrtlzrd32
05-02-2013, 08:23 AM
My system is now completely cycled through the fishless cycling but the place I am going to buy my tilapia from will not have any available for another month. I want to get some fish from the local pet store to put in the system for the time being so I can stop dosing ammonia so frequently and be able to watch some fish!

Not being very knowledgeable in the fish world I wanted to see if any of you had some ideas of what I might try. I put in a plecostomus and a goldfish to start. I would like to have fish that I can keep with the tilapia when they arrive but that wont hurt them or be hurt by them. Thanks for the suggestions. :)

foodchain
05-02-2013, 08:55 AM
Feeder goldfish, commets, catfish, etc. Be mindfull of size. Catfish will eat whatever they can.
Also, you didn't say how big your tank is.....so we need to know that to accurately answer your question. Is this heated like for tropical fish? Or ambient temp?

dsrtlzrd32
05-02-2013, 11:53 AM
Thanks foodchain. It is ambient heat right now but I live in hot temps so the water is currently 75 average. My system is 600 gallons. I plan to stock with 50 tilapia and then introduce a couple of catfish later for population control on the tilapia. So I figure I have room for a couple more fish that shouldnt hurt the system much. I was thinking maybe getting a fancy goldfish just for fun but I wonder if the tilapia or other fish would attack it. Any feeder goldfish I use now will probably get fed to my chickens when I get my tilapia.

Basil1
05-02-2013, 12:20 PM
Fancy goldfish are a bad choice unless you want to see them end up in pieces. What size will you be getting the tilapia at?

dsrtlzrd32
05-02-2013, 04:54 PM
Good to know Basil, check them off my list :) The tilapia will be about 1 inch fingerlings when I get them so I did not want to add the catfish yet. Any other ideas?

eddiemigue
05-02-2013, 07:26 PM
Commets are nice (and they can grow pretty big if the tank allows) as foodchain recommends. I'd just avoid the big chain stores because of potentially diseased fish (personal experience and what I have read is common).

dsrtlzrd32
05-03-2013, 06:15 AM
Unfortunately I can only buy from petsmart or walmart here. Last I was at petsmart their commet goldfish tank had several dead ones floating around and I did not think they looked healthy. If I did get some of them and they end up dying of a disease, will the disease leave my tank with them or would I have to do a full water change to disinfect my tank? (speaking mostly of ich).

foodchain
05-03-2013, 07:45 AM
I have kept fantails and Orandas with my Tilapia. They will fray the fins much. And being slower they won't get as much food. That's about all you risk. Once the catfish are big enough, they will eat the goldfish, tilapia, anything else that will fit in their mouth.

foodchain
05-03-2013, 07:46 AM
I have been a manager at the big chain pet store. The dead and dying feeder fish are not usually due to disease, but rahter amonia burn on the gills. The shipping guys deliver them that way. With that being said. BE EXTRA careful about which ones you choose.

foodchain
05-03-2013, 07:48 AM
On the disease issues.....the fish is just the carrier. Once you introduce it to your system, the disease, parasite, etc is there....so long as there's a viable host, the life cycle of the disease or parasite will continue. Be smart. Quarantine all fish in seperate tank prior to introducing to system.

dsrtlzrd32
05-03-2013, 09:49 AM
Sweet, thank you very much foodchain. One more quick question if I may. How many catfish do you think would maintain a healthy tilapia growth/balance when they start breeding in my system? I know that is probably a variable answer, but about how many baby tilapia would one catfish eat per day do you think? Just curious as I have never raised a catfish. :)

foodchain
05-03-2013, 02:23 PM
I don't think you are understanding how this works.
This is a variable answer depending on size of catfish, size of tilapia, season (breeding season for the catfish vs winter), water temp not so much now as you have said mid 70's, but this will change with the season. It depends on how you feed, what you feed, frequency of feeding...sinking, floating, etc. By mixing species you intend to feed on each other, you are creating a food chain. You need to research them independently first. Gain experience with both, then mix and adjust to your specific style and location. How YOU do it, is not the same as a guy down the road, next state over, or across the country.
And that's BEFORE we start talking about maximizing production....egg stripping, egg tumblers, etc.

At your current experience level, buy 2-3 and learn with them. 600 gallons is NOT gonna support a lot, or very big. And that's IF you just had cats in them. Add the Tilapia, and you need a hell of a lot more water. You pack in the density, and disease will break out and wipe both out quickly.

bsfman
05-03-2013, 02:55 PM
How many catfish do you think would maintain a healthy tilapia growth/balance when they start breeding in my system? I know that is probably a variable answer, but about how many baby tilapia would one catfish eat per day do you think? Just curious as I have never raised a catfish. :)

My first system pumped from a sump to the fish tank which gravity fed into growbeds and back to the sump. I had a lot of baby tilapia result. My new system pumps from the fish tank, through mechanical filtration and settling, then gravity feeds into the growbeds and back to the fish tank. I've had NO tilapia babies survive in the new set up. I can only surmise the fry are getting sucked through the pump and shredded. (I took the sponge inlet filters off the pump since they clogged so rapidly).

My point is, that if you employ something similar, you probably don't need to stock predators for the fry. 8-)

dsrtlzrd32
05-03-2013, 05:42 PM
At your current experience level, buy 2-3 and learn with them. 600 gallons is NOT gonna support a lot, or very big. And that's IF you just had cats in them. Add the Tilapia, and you need a hell of a lot more water. You pack in the density, and disease will break out and wipe both out quickly.


I was planning on stocking the tilapia first, about 50. Then as they grew and started breeding I would add a couple catfish and see what happens to the population. Is the stocking of 60 fish in a 600 gallon tank to ambitious to start? I was thinking that would be on the light side (which is what I want so like you said problems wont be magnified).

Thanks bsfman, I have a similar setup as you with the pump in the fish tank. I notice it already sucks up few small minnows I put in my system so maybe I wont need a predator after all. I guess I just need to wait and learn my system as I go.

I really appreciate the advice, gives me things to think about before I get there.

JCO
07-27-2013, 11:33 PM
OK, I've been waiting on an update. What did you finally do and how many fish do you have in the 600 gal system now? :mrgreen: