Effects of Mozambique Tilapia on Water Quality in a Small Kansas Pond

Introduction of tilapias is increasingly being used a fisheries management tool in midwestern United States for supplemental forage, recreational angling, and vegetation control. However, little is known about how these stockings impact water quality in receiving waters. We stocked Mozambique Tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus into a 0.27-ha pond in east-central Kansas at a rate of 52.2 kg/ha on 11 May 2023. We then measured a suite of 14 water quality parameters weekly over a period of eight months in the treatment pond and in an adjacent 0.20-ha control pond without tilapia. We used a PERMANOVA to deduce that variability in water quality from tilapia presence did not differ from temporal variability within the study ponds (F = 1.705; P = 0.124). Accordingly, examination of all water quality parameters suggested similar trends in each study pond. Findings from this study suggest one-time stockings of Mozambique Tilapia at rates under 52.2 kg/ha are unlikely to elicit immediate water quality changes in small ponds.