How to Rear Tilapia Fish

Dig a 3-foot-deep pond and fill it with water at a depth of 2 inches. Fertilize the pond a week before placing the tilapia, by evenly applying chicken, duck or pig manure to the bottom of the pond. Fertilization will stimulate the natural production of plankton and algae, which is food for the tilapia.

Fill the pond with water 2 1/2 feet deep. Ensure that the water is still and not flowing directly from a stream or river -- separate the pond from flowing sources of water. Maintain the water temperature at 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a water heater in the pond to regulate the temperature, especially if you are rearing tilapia in cold environments. Tilapia perish when water temperature drops below 50 degrees.

Grow water hyacinths in the pond to filter the water naturally. Partially replace the water every week by 10 percent. Dechlorinate new water by dissolving 1000mg of vitamin C in 100 gallons of water. Let the new water sit in a separate vessel for 24 hours after dechlorination to neutralize the ammonia.

Purchase a fine-meshed bamboo fence from an aquaculture equipment supplier. Screen ponds that are connected to external sources of water with the fine-meshed bamboo fence. This will prevent the tilapia from entering the external water source and escaping from the pond.

Purchase tilapia fingerlings from a breeder. Gradually add the pond water to the water in the fingerling container to acclimate the fish prior to placing them in the pond. Deposit about six fingerlings for every 10 sq. ft. of water surface area. Place the fingerlings in the pond either at dawn or late afternoon, at a time when the water temperature is cool, to prevent shock to the fish.

Feed the fingerlings daily in the morning and at noon, at one corner of the pond, with bugs, flies, grubs and worms. The amount of feed should be 5 percent of the total body weight of the fish. As the fingerlings grow, they will consume the plankton and algae in the pond, but you should occasionally supplement their diet with fine breadcrumbs, rice bran, termites and worms.

Fertilize the pond once every month after the tilapia are placed in it, by depositing 5 lbs. of manure in a sack and suspending it in a corner of the pond. The sack will gradually release the manure and prevent excessive oxygen loss during its decomposition.

The fingerlings will grow to a size of 1 pound within six months, and will be ready for harvesting. Use a dip net to harvest tilapia. Place the net in the water and drop a small amount of feed around it. Gently lower the net toward the bottom of the pond. Immediately pull it out of the water to prevent the tilapia from escaping.