Okay I am game. Sounds like a great tank mate to tilapia. Similar water conditions, etc. The Sepik river ones have turned into being carnivores based on an episode of River Monsters I watched. I have kept them up to about 3 inches in the ornamental tanks, but never considered eating them.
While the big tanks/pools would work for grow out, can you spawn them? Or would it be more like the striper hybrids that you have to buy fingerlings every season? Or can you maybe handspawn them like koi and salmon? I am going to research this some, and see the feasability. TX gets cold enough you shouldn't need a permit. FL is probably requiring permits to reduce probable invasive species. Just a guess.