New member from the Philippines feeling bad about what I did to my tilapia and now I want to do better

[pondyard]

Hello! I'm living in the Philippines and I have a little 250 gallon pond. I joined this website to get some ideas on how I can create a humane and enriching environment for a few fish I want them to feel somewhat free with space to roam, not feel like they're trapped in my pond.

 

[pondyard]

Hello! I just joined this community and decided I'd post here as well as the introduction forum.

I'm living in the Philippines and I have a little 250 gallon pond. I think it's maybe 2.5 feet deep, 5 feet long, and 3 feet wide (all approximations). It has a lot of water lettuce I regularly thin out to let sun into the pond and a couple of papyrus and a tarp liner. I originally made the pond to harvest tilapia, but a few months after putting tilapia in I became vegan. With my vegan outlook on life I have a new perspective of the tilapia and now I feel bad for them. The new tilapia are tiny and stunted, so I have no choice but to get rid of them to end their suffering. The overcrowding will only get worse because I won't be harvesting them on a regular basis. I think I will drain my little pond to get rid of the tilapia so future generations don't have to suffer the same fate, but I would like to replace them with something if possible.

I'm hoping some of you fine people on this forum can help me with that! I am hoping to find a small tropical fish that will find my little pond to be a big paradise instead of a cramped cage. I was thinking of getting some tetras, but I don't know if they'll just overcrowd the pond as well. Maybe just some female zebrafish? I am open to any suggestions! Ideally fish that like to eat mosquito larvae and algae, won't overcrowd, and I want them to feel like my pond is a big space. Even shrimp and the like are fine if they meet those requirements.

 

[Benji k]

Hello! I'm living in the Philippines and I have a little 250 gallon pond. I joined this website to get some ideas on how I can create a humane and enriching environment for a few fish I want them to feel somewhat free with space to roam, not feel like they're trapped in my pond.

Us live plants it make it way more natural. make it like ther environment do some research on we’re ther from and what they like this my small tetra pond.

 

[pondyard]

Us live plants it make it way more natural. make it like ther environment do some research on we’re ther from and what they like this my small tetra pond.

How do you prevent them from overcrowding?

 

[GaryE]

If you are concerned about environmental issues, don't put exotics in the pond. Your country has a bit of a problem with invasive introductions from aquarium keepers, since so many can survive in your climate. But if collecting is legal where you are, check fishbase.org for the country listing of species. and seek out native fish probably from nearby. That way, you do no harm and provide a home for natural mosquito eaters. If by chance there are some of the native Rasbora near you (do not translocate species kept outdoors out of their range), take pictures so we can see what they look like. I've never seen images of the Philippines species!

 

[pondyard]

If you are concerned about environmental issues, don't put exotics in the pond. Your country has a bit of a problem with invasive introductions from aquarium keepers, since so many can survive in your climate. But if collecting is legal where you are, check fishbase.org for the country listing of species. and seek out native fish probably from nearby. That way, you do no harm and provide a home for natural mosquito eaters. If by chance there are some of the native Rasbora near you (do not translocate species kept outdoors out of their range), take pictures so we can see what they look like. I've never seen images of the Philippines species!

Unfortunately I'm stuck with whatever the local shops sell, which tend to be aquarium fish like guppies, angel fish, goldfish, zebrafish, tetras, rosy barb, etc. I could also get a catfish from a grocery store/food vendor but I think they grow to a pretty massive size.

 

[Benji k]

How do you prevent them from overcrowding?

Are they breeding to much they should stop breeding once it’s to overcrowded the baby’s should realise a fume to tell the parents to stop breeding Thers to many baby’s

 

[emeraldking]

I also prefer to use live plants instead of fake ones. Just put plants inside on both sides of the tank and in the back and an open swimming space in the front. Maybe some floaters.

 

[Essjay]

I have merged two threads as they are on the same subject. Both original threads had replies and they are now all together here in post time order which is why the merged thread is a bit disjointed.