01/22/2016
RARE, PURE STRAIN, MIXED S*X, BLUE TILAPIA FINGERLINGS
The BEST choice for Game Fish ponds, Aquaponic, or Aquaculture systems!
In a lake or pond, are you considering using chemicals for algae and other vegetation control, adding an aeration system, or using a supplemental feeding program? These programs are very expensive to implement and maintain. Blue Tilapia can accomplish all three goals naturally at far less annual cost!
In an Aquaponic System, no other fish, including any other tilapia, can compare with the Blue Tilapia for hardiness, disease resistance, great taste, low grow-out costs, rapid growth, or be easier to raise.
Each purchase is for a quantity of 20 three to five+ inch Mixed-Sex Blue Tilapia, OR 40 one to two inch Mixed-Sex Blue Tilapia.
These fish are very hardy, fast growing, and robust fish! They have been raised from birth in well maintained aquariums using ONLY Purina Aquamax Feeds---An all natural ingredient, top quality, and 100% nutritionally complete diet! Feeding amounts and temperatures are reduced to slow their rapid growth and in no way harms the fish. Because of the reduced feeding and water temperature, the growth rate will explode once you provide their optimum environment.
Most of the 3-5 inchers are already s*xually mature and spawning. Each order includes an extra 20% as bonus fish (5=6, fish shipped, 20=24 fish shipped and 40=48 fish shipped). Remember, these are a PURE STRAIN of fish so every successive generation produced will continue to be the same quality offspring so you can always raise your own fish, and there is NEVER a need to replace your brood stock with "Fresh Genetics". Hybrid/cross-bred stock must be continually replaced.
PLEASE BE SURE TO SPECIFY THE SIZE FISH DESIRED WHEN PAYMENT IS MADE!!! IF NO SIZE IS SPECIFIED, A RANDOM SIZED MIXTURE OF 25 FISH WILL BE SENT . Please note the 20% extra fish sent are in the rare case a mortality occurs during shipping and is NOT a part of the "Live Arrival Guarantee".
A history of the Blue tilapia and some common Myths about other tilapia.
PURE BLUE TILAPIA are the most rare and highly sought after of all tilapia. Most Tilapia are of the Nile, Mozambique, or Sarotherodon species and unfortunately, most scientific research involves the use of tilapia in commercial settings and rarely refers to an individual species of tilapia. For many years, even in the wild, these fish have cross-bred and hybridized. Even most so-called Blues caught in the wild are hybridized. While these varieties are common and have their own use and place in aquaculture, the characteristics of the PURE BLUE TILAPIA are what all "man-made" tilapia are compared to. Commercial producers are always trying to build a better tilapia--One that tastes as good as the Blue, one that reproduces as well as the Blue, one that can grow as fast as the Blue, one that can survive lower temperatures like the Blue, etc.
Most tilapia, including hybrid Blues, will die in water temperatures well above 55 degrees. Only the PURE STRAIN of Blue Tilapia can live in water as low as 45 degrees---This fact alone can make the difference in losing an entire stock of fish or not if a cold front comes through unexpectedly. Also Hybrids produce a genetically inferior offspring. Tilapia are often either genetically engineered or more commonly dipped in chemicals to produce only the male s*x. Males are preferred in commercial operations because of the myth that the female has a lower food conversion rate that causes females to grow slower. In reality, if females are not able to collect their eggs and brood them, they grow just as fast as males. Female are thought to grow slower, but only because they hold their eggs and fry in their mouths for up to three weeks. During this brooding period, she will not eat--Naturally she will grow slower. If you want to avoid spawning for the most rapid growth, you simply put a net or something else in the bottom of the tank, like a quarter or half inch hardware cloth a couple inches above the tank bottom. This allows eggs to fall to the bottom without being fertilized. If this method is used, females will continue to eat and grow just as fast as the males. Only a minimal amount of energy will be spent on reproduction. There are also fish created for a so-called "Improved" body form. This may be useful in an assembly line processing center, but the "Improved" fish grows slower than the Blue, the offspring are very inferior to the Blue, and "Improved" species are far less resistant to disease. Finally, no cross or hybrid tilapia species can retain the cold water temperature tolerance of the PURE Blue Tilapia--NONE! The lowest temperature tolerance ever achieved for any other tilapia species/hybrid is 52 degrees for 100% mortality.
My fish originally came from a wild, isolated lake colony that was discovered many years ago. The lake water was cooler and had NO other tilapia species in it. This is an undiluted Blue Tilapia species. Unlike ANY hybrid/cross, these fish will produce equal numbers of high quality male and female offspring, generation after generation after generation!
Spawning and growth will begin at 60-70 degrees, but frequent spawning and phenominal growth rates are achieved at the optimum water temperature of 82-85 degrees. In natural settings with predators, these fish are VERY hardy, fast swimmers, and once larger than 2-3 inches they avoid nearly all predation in warmer waters. The survivable temperature range is from 45 to 125+ degree water!
Over 95% of all Tilapia raised in the world are produced for large scale commercial food operations. The fish used in the commercial industry are most often genetically or chemically altered to produce only males and deformed bodies in order for the large operations to process only similarly sized fish and to prevent spawning.
Pure Strain Blue Tilapia is the Gold standard to compare fish to when creating hybrid tilapia. The most well known of these creations is what is often called the "SuperMale". The SuperMale is only used commercially to produce offspring which are 98% male. This genetically engineered and highly cross-bred fish was created STRICTLY for the commercial food producing industry and has never been available to the general public. Large scale processors wanted a uniformly sized fish with a higher meat content that maintained an adequate growth rate and taste in order to maximize profits---So the "SuperMale" was created. The process to create a true SuperMale is extremely expensive, complex, and can only be accomplished in a laboratory-certainly not in a backyard set-up! TRUE breeding colonies of these fish (one male and five females) sell for $30,000+. Needless to say, very few people outside of very large commercial operations will actually have these fish---or would WANT them! Be very suspect of anyone claiming to sell them.
The reason the Blue Tilapia is the fish all other tilapia are compared to is for the very white, semi-firm fillets, and it's great, smooth and mild taste. While some hybrids and crosses come close, none have ever been able to match the Blue's quality.
The major problem with SuperMales and all other hybrids outside of large operations, is that the offspring are genetically, a very inferior fish when compared to it's parentage. Second and successive generations produced from SuperMales result in poorer and poorer quality fish. These SuperMale or hybrid tilapia breeding colonies must be constantly replaced to maintain a viable F-1 (first generation) offspring. With the Pure Strain Blue Tilapia, each successive generation consistently produces a superior, high quality fish.
One thing you will rarely be told about the F-1 offspring from Super Males and most hybrid tilapia is that to achieve a rapid enough growth rate, the large-scale food producers must feed diets supplemented with hormones such as testosterone and/or cancer causing chemicals that we end up eating!
Most Tilapia imported into the United States, comes from China and third-world countries. Considering many toys from China contain lead and little sanitation exists in many exporting countries, don't you want to know what is in your food?
Only by raising your own fish, will you KNOW what you are eating!
The AVERAGE growth rate for MALE Pure Strain Blue Tilapia in a natural pond environment is 1.5 pounds in just 6-8 months NATURALLY, where the hormone fed, so-called, "fast growing hybrids" usually take 9 months to reach 1.5 pounds. Why would anyone want a hybrid or cross when the PURE strain Blue Tilapia out-performs all other tilapia?
A small sample of Blue Tilapia for Aquaponics and Aquaculture use;
In aquaponics or aquaculture geared toward raising a food fish, the Blue Tilapia simply can not be beaten! Super fast growth, an extremely high food conversion ratio, the ability to thrive in horrible water conditions, early and high reproductivity rate....The lists go on and on. Also as an omnivore with the ability to extract nutrition from almost anything eaten, you can feed them almost anything, from yard waste to animal waste. In Asia, it is common to raise ducks and geese in ponds and use the tilapia to eat their waste. In these systems, the ducks and geese feed on excess tilapia fry, the tilapia eat the bird waste and heavy algae growth it creates, then the pond water is pumped or poured as highly fertilized water onto vegetable plants which in turn filters the water and extracts nutrition with naturally occuring beneficial bacteria, then cleaned water drains back into the pond. After the short time it takes for the tilapia, ducks, geese, and vegetables to become fully grown, what is not personally eaten, is often sold to commercial processors as food and shipped to us in the United States for consumption. In larger "For-Profit" operations, hormone and chemical laden feed is nearly always used in an attempt to speed growth! In short, you have NO idea what is in those store bought Tilapia fillets!
Stocking densities of tilapia can be extremely high. In intensively managed closed systems, stocking rates of 3 pounds per gallon are not uncommon, although we recommend a density no higher than your experience and filtration capabilities allow.
Blue Tilapia are Mouth-Brooders, so the females stop eating in order to keep the eggs and fry protected in their mouth until the fry are old enough to live on their own. Upon emerging from their mothers mouth, most fry wil seek shelter in plant growth eating decaying leaves and detritus till they are about an inch long and begin to school in huge masses. From one to almost three inches in length, predator fingerlings will feast on most of the young tilapia. Only a few may survive, but that is all that is needed! The growth rate is astounding and is often over an inch per week. This rapid growth is because Blue tilapia convert food at around a 1.2 to 1 ratio, Meaning for every 1.2 pounds of food they eat, they will grow 1 pound. Catfish and Bluegill ratios are around 4 to 1, Crappie 6 to 1, and Bass are slow at around 10 to 1. Blue Tilapia are known to grow as much as 3 pounds in as little as 9 months. Average growth is 1.5 pounds in 6 months.
Being able to grow your own high quality food is becoming more and more popular, not only because you can control the chemicals you are exposed to in your food, but with the economic uncertainties facing the world, it may be a realistic need for survival in the future. Aquaponic systems can be very elaborate and expensive or very simple and inexpensive to build and maintain. YOU choose what is right for you! Most importantly, YOU can provide a steady, safe, healthy, great tasting, and SELF-SUSTAINABLE food supply for YOUR family that is always available in ANY time of need. Experts predict that due to out of control government spending and unprecedented debt, Hyper-Inflation will begin in less than three years, and the cost of food is likely increase over 1000% in just the next 10 years---It is already happening---Here is your chance to be prepared! Aquaponic systems and food production capabilities are only limited by your own imagination! The potential is limitless!
Just a small sample of the many uses and benefits of Blue Tilapia in the typical Sport Fish pond;
I encourage you to do even more research on this amazing fish!
VERY special pricing, and even personal delivery is available on orders in excess of 50 pounds! Please contact me for more information!
Tilapia are the safest, surest, and most cost effective way to rid your pond of the unhealthy Blue-Green and unsightly Filamentous Algaes (AKA FA or Pond Scum), as well as, Duckweed, Watermeal, Milfoil, Overgrown Lilly Pads, Parrot's Feather, Chara, and many, many more undesirable pond weeds. In lakes and ponds, Tilapia are an incredibly effective, chemical free way to quickly rid your waters of choking weeds and unsightly string algae (FA) that make fishing almost impossible and certainly less enjoyable. As a bonus, Tilapia are unmatched for providing huge numbers of offspring which provide a highly nutritious forage, or prey fish, for Large Mouth Bass, Blue Gill, Yellow Perch, Crappie and any other predator fish species. In short, eat plant life for nourishment that other fish simply CAN'T and would otherwise go to waste. Tilapia provide your Sport fish with MORE nutrition at less expense than ANY other method! It is a win-win solution!
Tilapia are simply a less colorful African Cichlid, a "Tropical Fish". ALL other Tilapia, including any hybrid/cross will die at a temperature well above 55 degrees so their life in ponds outside of southern Florida is seasonal. Their death each winter is actually the biggest benefit to your pond or lake. ONLY PURE BLUE TILAPIA live to a temperature of 45 degrees and usually live in open waters from early April till well into November in temperate climates, adding from 2-4 months to the useful life span in ponds or outdoor holding facilities over any other tilapia species. This can also reduce any heating requirements for 2-4 months if tilapia are over-wintered indoors!
Blue Tilapia become s*xually mature at around 11 weeks of age and by spawning about every 5 to 6 weeks, each female can produce several thousand offspring in a single season for your predators to eat. This takes a tremendous pressure off the normal forage base, such as bluegill, shiners, and threadfin shad. This allows the forage base to thrive as well. A single 8 ounce female will produce 300 to 500 surviving mixed s*x fry every 5-6 weeks. Larger females produce far more fry!
Since these are an easy fish, many choose to grow out brooders in heated stock tanks or aquariums during the winter for replacement in their pond each spring.
Blue Tilapia are Mouth-Brooders, so the females stop eating in order to keep the eggs and fry protected in their mouth until the fry are old enough to live on their own. Upon emerging from their mothers mouth, most fry wil seek shelter in plant growth eating decaying leaves and detritus till they are about an inch long and begin to school in huge masses. From one to almost three inches in length, predator fingerlings will feast on most of the young tilapia. Only a few may survive, but that is all that is needed! The growth rate is astounding and is often over an inch per week. This rapid growth is because Blue tilapia convert food at around a 1.2 to 1 ratio, Meaning for every 1.2 pounds of food they eat, they will grow 1 pound. Catfish and Bluegill ratios are around 4 to 1, Crappie 6 to 1, and Bass are slow at around 10 to 1. Blue Tilapia are known to grow as much as 3 pounds in as little as 9 months. Average growth is 1.5 pounds in 6 months.
Water quality and dissolved oxygen levels in ponds and lakes are dramatically and rapidly improved by adding tilapia. This is due to the tilapia eating vast quantities of muck and decay (detritus) in the pond that would otherwise add ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and many other toxins to the water. Also by eating this detritus, far less oxygen is consumed that would normally be used in the decay process. The tilapia do not intentionally consume the detritus, they eat it to get the bacteria growing on the decaying matter. Their love for the bacteria ensures fresh colonies of beneficial aerobic bacteria on your pond bottom to speed the breakdown of muck even further---similar to adding aeration.
Because of their temperature requirements and dying at 45 degrees every year, overpopulation is never a concern. In established ponds, the vast numbers of tilapia spawned will actually INCREASE the pond's carrying capacity considerably. This is due to the large increase in dissolved oxygen, the huge decrease in toxins and oxygen consuming bacteria and detritus, and by reproducing an abundant natural food source for most other fish. During warmer months, spawning occurs at a feverish pace with most fry under 2 inches being eaten by the smaller forage and predator fish such as young of year bass and bluegill. Survivors reaching the 3+ inch range often outswim most other predators. In the Autumn, when temperatures begin to fall to around 60 degrees, the tilapia will become lethargic and their ability to avoid being eaten will be gone. When this happens, your Bass, Catfish, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Hybrid Striped Bass, and all other predators will gorge themselves with the now slow swimming tilapia. This high quality, high protein, high fat natural food availability occurs when it is needed the most. Because of this high quality, easy to catch NATURAL food source, ALL other fish, including prey fish in your eco system will enter the hard winter months MUCH fatter and heathier.
There is also little concern for cleaning your pond of dead fish too large for other pond fish to eat. Turtles, coyotes, fox, raccoons, and many other animals will very quickly dispose of the remains and also gain a much needed quality food which will in turn take pressure off whatever those animals would normally eat---like rabbits, deer, turkey, and quail. Within a couple days of death, there will rarely be a trace of tilapia left, meaning nearly 100% of wasted plant life eaten by the tilapia becomes a food source for the ENTIRE food chain. Of course, YOU can eat them too! They fight like demons on a rod and reel plus they taste GREAT!!
One pound of tilapia fingerlings will equal several hundred pounds of 100% natural and high quality food in a pond EVERY YEAR at a fraction of the feed cost!
Normal stocking rates for ponds are from 10 to 50 pounds per acre depending on your goals.
Very competitive pricing is available for quantities of over 50 pounds of fish for Sport Fish Ponds.
ATTENTION!
In the states that do not allow tilapia in open waters, you MUST complete and return a Liability Release Form before fish may be shipped!
Please verify the laws in your state prior to purchase if you are concerned or unsure.
Tilapia are allowed in ALL states in "Closed Systems", such as an aquarium, without restriction!
In legal terms, a "Closed System" is defined as the water may ONLY be drained into a Municipal water treatment system or a closed septic system. and an "Open System" is defined as any container or body of water being exposed to rain, flood, overflow, or oterwise drained onto the ground surface.
Pure Strain Blue Tilapia are almost impossible to find. I believe you will find I am the only person that sells them to the public! We provide drop-shipping services for others DO promote my fish on other venues but they are in no way affiliated with, or are representatives of, R&S Ranch LLC.
I started raising them to provide an easy, reliable, high quality source for all my fellow Pond Meisters at the informative web forum of the Pond Boss Magazine www.pondboss.com . To reach the forum, just click on "Ask The Boss" for expert answers on ANY pond questions. This was where I first learned all of the benefits in using Tilapia both as an unbeatable forage fish and for unmatched algae control. Another great forum is www.BigBluegill.com and my page is at www.bigbluegill.com/profile/Rainman You can find my phone number there if you wish to contact me. These sites have some wonderful information and the people on these two forums have a love and passion for ponds that is second to none. I urge you to visit and join in.
Live Arrival is 100% guaranteed INCLUDING shipping!
SHIPPING IS FOR THE LOWER 48 STATES ONLY!!
Shipments are normally sent out via FedEX on Mondays and Tuesdays only. Saturday delivery IS available to most areas for an additional fee. Special arrangements can usually be made for fish arrival on other days. Same-Day Air Freight delivery required for orders of 50 or more of the larger size fish at a very reasonable additional charge.
AT LEAST 2 DAYS ARE REQUIRED TO PREPARE THE FISH FOR TRANSPORT AFTER PURCHASE TO ENSURE THEIR HEALTHY ARRIVAL!
Need Tilapia feed, larger or smaller fish? VERY special pricing for large quantities for pond and lake stocking. Please contact me for details. Feed orders are shipped free when ordered with fish.
Scientific names used for Blue Tilapia; Oreochromis Aureus, Oreochromis Aurea, T Aurea, T Aureus, O Aurea, O Aureus, Hornorum
Please email me with any questions.
Thanks for looking!
R&S Ranch LLC
Email us at: [email protected]
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