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| Left is male/right is female |
So once your aquaponics is set up and all the problems are solved and the vegetables are growing, the fish is happy and then...you think, well I think I am finally at a point that I can sell some of my fish. (note once you do this it might ruin the great hobby of it and turn it into business of it. youll see) So to get the best results and profit you will need to figure out whats what in the tilapia sex world.
Most farmers wish to only cultivate males. Male tilapias grow bigger faster and yield a higher profit for aquacultures. So as soon as possible the males are recognized and the females are separated out. Sexing of tilapia is tricky and requires practice. Even experienced professionals will normally get a small percent wrong.
When a tilapia fingerling has reached a weight of 1 ounce it can generally be sexed by looking at the genital papilla. The genital papilla is located right behind the anus of the fish. If the genital papilla has one opening you are looking at a male tilapia.
Males have only one opening and both urine and milt will pass through this hole. If you observe two openings, then you are looking at a female tilapi. This is because tilapia eggs do not pass through the same hole as urine.
If youre inexperienced and are having a hard time, try placing a drop of dye, such as food coloring on the genital region. The color should make it easier to distinguish the openings.
We usually place the females in another tank and from there we can decide to continue to let them breed (most of the time) or sell or give them away. If you have chickens, these small fish are perfect snacks and add high protein to the poultrys diet. It doesnt give the eggs a bad taste either as long as you are not feeding the chicken only fish for its diet. We suggest giving the females away to young people as a introduction to aquaponics and gardening.
If you are looking for tilapia, that is fairly easy.
You can find it in the search engines by putting in "where to buy tilapia".
I use two different companies and both seem to have good prices and great quality.
The aquaponic store
If you are looking for a specific kind or whole colonies, then use
Tilapia Depot
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