Disease

[sgudger]

I put gold fish in my system that may have a disease because I got them from pet smart .
I don't want to hurt the tilopia I ordered or my plants what should I do ?

[keith_r]

what disease? how do you know?
don't use aquarium chemicals to treat.. these are most often NOT meant for plants and fish that you want to eat...

[sgudger]

I was told because I bought the gold fish at a pet store that they usually always have some kind of disease ?......your response ?

[keith_r]

that's not necessarily the case..it's not uncommon for pet stores to sell "feeder" fish that are barely alive, already stressed from transport and underfed (to control ammonia and nitrites)
if they are not exhibiting any signs of disease they should be ok..
any fish, when stressed, becomes more susceptible to infections and/or disease, many are almost always in the water (after having livestock in it for a while) but are no problem for healthy fish

[sgudger]

Last question I've have a 2 175 fish tanks for my aquaponics systems .
If they have an alge loom problem should the tilopia clean it out ?

[keith_r]

no.. they are good at controlling FA (fillamentous algae) and other water plants in ponds, but they can't really "filter" it out of green water.. well.. fry will eat algae.. but not bigger fish..
cover so that the tanks are not in direct sunlight.. after the initial algae bloom, you can usually uncover the tanks.. something in the dying algae inhibits a second bloom.. but if your water has too many nutrients (underfiltered or overfed) you can still end up getting a second or third algae bloom.. if thats the case, keep the tanks covered, and get more growbeds online.. oh.. and during the bloom, it's a good idea to add aeration (personally, i think aeration should be added anyways)

[urbanfarmer]

Tilapia are not efficient filter feeders. Technically, they aren't filter feeders at all. However, they are capable of similar action through organs in the gills called gill rakers. Google it, it's true!

[JCO]

If you have an algae bloom, sooner or later it will start accumulating on the sides of the tank and the Tilapia will be more than happy to take care of that problem for you.