How to Raise Tilapia in Cages

Nile tilapia and Blue tilapia are often grown in cages.

Raising tilapia in cages has become an effective way to grow tilapia. It can be done in rivers, lakes, dams and other large reservoirs. Tilapia farming uses two different cage designs. Since tilapia grow to 100 grams in about 4 months, they have become a great fish for cage raising. Being aware of the site you select and construction of your cage can have a tremendous impact on the amount of fish you will grow.

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Young tilapia
Fish cages
Underwater rope
High-vitamin tilapia food

Instructions

- 1
  
  Sink the fish cages filled with young tilapia into a river, lake or dam under a pier. The water should be around 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The cages must not go down any deeper than 3 feet.
- 2
  
  Place the cages about 15 feet apart. Make sure that the current is active in the area. Rough water with strong currents should be avoided.
- 3
  
  Link the cages together through the cage loops with underwater rope to assure that no cages float away.
- 4
  
  Tie each cage to the pier with suspended underwater rope.
- 5
  
  Feed the fish high-vitamin tilapia food. The total amount of food dropped in each cage daily should equal 5 percent of their combined body fat. Divide that amount by four and feed the tilapia four times a day with that food. Continue until tilapia are fully raised.

Tips & Warnings

Caged tilapia require high-vitamin fish food specially made for caged tilapia because they cannot forage.
Raising fish in cages in stagnant water is not advisable.
Make sure the water the fish are grown in does not have a high concentration of bacteria. Tilapia should only be raised in optimal water conditions.