The Biology and Culture of Tilapias

Tilapia Culture in Ponds under Controlled Conditions

Fish and Aquaculture Research Station

Dor, D.N. Ho f-Hacarmel

Israel

AND

GivatShapim, Israel

HEPHER. B. AND Y. PRUGININ. 1982. Tilapia culture in ponds under con-

trolled conditions, p. 185-203. In R.S.V. Pullin and R.H. Lowe-McConnell

(eds.) The biology and culture of tilapias. ICLARM Conference Proceed-

ings 7, 432 p. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Manage-

ment, Manila, Philippines.

Tilapias are valuable pond fish. They are appreciated by consumers in

many countries and can produce high yields on relatively low inputs. How-

ever, tilapias pose a special management problem. They breed in production

ponds when still young and small, greatly increasing the population. This re-

sults in competition and stunting due to lack of food. Only by controlling re-

production in production ponds can fish of marketable size and high yields

per unit pond area be obtained. Two management methods to overcome this

problem are reviewed: (a) rearing a mixed male-female population of young

of the year before they attain sexual maturity and (b) rearing an all-male

population. Factors affecting the choice of one of these methods are dis-

cussed as well as the techniques involved in each method. The effects of

chemical fertilization, organic manuring and feeding on the production of

tilapia in ponds are also discussed.

Introduction

Tilapias have become increasingly important in fish culture, especially in
warm climates. According to FA0 (1978), the total world production of
tilapias (both Tilapia and Sarotherodon species, but excluding other cichlids)
reached 197,000 t in 1977. Only a part of this production is obtained
through aquaculture, but that portion is increasing steadily.
The number of tilapia species cultured in ponds, both experimentally
and on a commercial scale, is quite large. Huet (1970) mentions 16 species.
Balarin and Hatton (1979) give a list of 23 species which have been cultured
at some stage. Of these, however, only two Tilapia (T. rendalli and T. zillii)
and three Sarotherodon species (S. mossambicus, S. niloticus and S. aureus)
have seen widespread use. The plant feeder T. rendalli is cultured to some
extent in the Malagasy Republic and some Latin American countries, e.g.,
Brazil and Mexico (Balarin and Hatton 1979). Tilapia zillii is cultured in