Hey Dave, welcome to the Show...!

First off, before you purchase any fry or breeders from anyone, you need to confer with our resident Tilapia brain, Badflash.

As for Blue Tilapia, since you live in the Orlando area, if you will only go out to your nearest large canal and do a little fishing, you will be able to catch all the Blue Tilapia you can haul home and the only permit you will need is a fishing permit.

Blue Tilapia have invaded just about every waterway and pond from about the middle of Florida all the way south so grab a line, a hook and a pole and go to it and good luck with your project....don't forget... there are many members on this forum who range in experience from beginner (like you) to 'Ole Hands At It and all of them are only to happy to give you any information you may need; additionally, the pages of the main site and all the topics of the forum are worth the price of any Aquaponics manual or guide book and it cost you only a little time to go through it.

Now....GO FISHIN'