Currently Cultured Fish Species

     Although Tilapias are endemic to Africa, interest in their aquacultural potential has led to nearly worldwide distribution within the past 50 years.  The USDA reports that “on a live weight basis,” the United States now consumes approximately 90 to 100 million pounds of tilapia per year with the majority of this supply being imported from Asian and South American countries.  The potential for the American tilapia farmer looks very promising!  

     The TSJC Aquafarm with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain excellent year-round production and reproduction of this popular warmwater fish.  The species of tilapias cultured in the TSJC Aquaculture Program consists of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, the most widely cultured tilapia because of its fast growth and attractive coloration at maturity and the Blue tilapia, Oreochromis aureus, a cold-tolerant fish suitable to the cooler climate of the San Luis Valley in Colorado.  Often students in the program will cross the Blue tilapia with the Nile tilapia to produce a faster growing male hybrid which can be selected for its desirable whitish coloration.

     Of the approximate 1,250 species of catfish known to exist, one species predominates in farming; the Channel catfish.  Catfish production remains the largest segment of United States aquaculture with the majority of production occurring in the Southeastern United States.  In 1997 the value of the catfish industry in the southeast was estimated at $580 million dollars with 525 million pounds processed.  Approximately 10,000 to 12,000  jobs are related to the catfish industry.

     The TSJC Aquafarm with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain excellent year-round production and seasonal reproduction of this popular warmwater fish.  The channel catfish was chosen for the program due to its familiarity with the American consumer, good dress-out characteristics, appealing flavor and tolerance of handling and other culture stresses.  The channel catfish is a native fish of Colorado.

     Although the largemouth bass has been farmed for food on a limited basis, it is sought after more so as an important sport fish in the U.S.  Among the management measures stressed in the TSJC Aquaculture Program are regular stocking or reproduction of the fish, controlled harvesting through quality fishing and the balancing of its populations with those of forage species such as fathead minnow and green sunfish also propagated in the program.

     The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain year-round production and seasonal reproduction of this popular warmwater game fish.  It is cultured in the program primarily due to its popularity with  anglers, rapid growth and large trophy-size potential.

     In addition, the largemouth bass commands a premium price from sportsman’s associations and fishing clubs.  

     Students of the aquaculture program also practice polyculture with this fish to manage the unwanted reproduction of tilapia species in pond and tank cultures.

     Baitfish is another economically important area of aquaculture in the United States with over 20 species of baitfish being cultured.  One of the most sought-after baitfish by North American anglers is the fathead minnow.  The fathead is considered a valuable forage and bait species since at its maximum size it is consumed by even young predator fish.  An easily propagated species, the fathead is popular with commercial hatchery operators, who raise them for bait and as forage for bass species.

     The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain year-round production and seasonal reproduction of this popular warmwater bait fish.  The fathead minnow is native to Colorado.

     This short, stocky sunfish, usually of an olive-green color with a brassy tint on the lower sides and belly, is a scrappy fighter even though it doesn’t attain a larger size like some of its cousins.  However, it is a popular food fish in some areas of the U.S.  An easily propagated species, the green sunfish is popular with commercial hatchery operators, who raise them for bait and as forage for bass species.  The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain year-round production and seasonal reproduction of this popular warmwater panfish.  The green sunfish is native to Colorado.

     The biological control of aquatic plants and weeds is possible with the use of an Asian member of the minnow family, the grass carp.  The grass carp looks nothing like our common carp.  It is a long, slender, silvery fish with a terminal mouth (not sucker-like) and large throat teeth (no jaw teeth) which help cut and shred plant material.  Grass carp will eat up to twice their weight in plants daily and grow about three times as fast as the common carp.  Grass carp have attained weights of up to 100 pounds and are considered a good food fish.  They are extremely hardy and can survive low temperatures and relatively low oxygen concentrations.

     The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource and ample production ponds, allows students to manage unwanted aquatic weeds with the grass carp.  Students occasionally market the grass carp as a food fish to ethnic niche markets as well as to water resource owners who wish to control unwanted aquatic weeds.

     Commonly referred to as the mosquito fish, the gambusia is abundant in the southern United States into Mexico and is found in southern Illinois, Indiana and California.  The gambusia feeds to a large extent on the larvae and pupae of mosquitoes, hence the common name.  Called the potgut minnow by fisherman, it is a common forage fish of the largemouth bass.

     The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain year-round production and seasonal reproduction of this popular warmwater bait fish.  Students occasionally market the mosquito fish to the local mosquito abatement agency.

     The colorful and scrappy trout, identified by the rosy red lateral band and small black spots,  is the most commonly cultured trout species in the Western United States.  It is cultured both for its recreational value and its food value. It is a hardy trout species which adapts well to culture conditions and diets.  Rainbow trout are spring spawners and in the wild eat a variety of invertebrates and occasionally other fish.  The rainbow trout is not native to Colorado.

     The TSJC Aquafarm, with its artesian geothermal water resource, allows students to maintain seasonal grow-out production of this popular coldwater fish.  Students have on occasion grown out a net pen of rainbow trout in our large reservoir where late fall, winter, and early spring temperatures make it possible to raise salmonids and other coldwater species.

Future Fish Species to be Cultured

Special Thanks to Joseph R. Tomelleri for his kind permission to use his prints as a base for our images.  Click here to find out about the artist.

All fish Images © Joseph R. Tomelleri All Rights Reserved

Ted Smith :  ted.smith@trinidadstate.edu

All contents © 2004-2006 SLVEC Web Project All rights reserved.

Revised:Oct 27,20048

URL: http://valley.trinidadstate.edu/aquaculture/species.htm