Hi Frank: Enjoyed your article on tilapia. Set me straight, I recall about 30 or 35 years ago these fish were introduced into Lake Parker in Lakeland. The purpose at that time was to attempt to control elodea and other water weeds. These fish were called ‘’Chinese Carp.’’ Do you know if these are the same kind of fish as tilapia? I looked at the Florida Fish & Wildlife web page and it says that these fish are mistakenly called Nile Perch. What say you? - Chuck Wilkeson, Zephyrhills

Chuck: No, tilapia are not the weed-eating carp. A species known as the white amur has been introduced here and there to cut down on weeds, and the fish are sterilized before they are released so that they won’t reproduce. The idea is they eat the weeds, then gradually die out. It hasn’t worked too well, though. As you indicate, tilapia and nile perch are not the same species. Tilapia reach maybe 8 to 10 pounds, nile perch over 100 pounds. They look quite a bit alike, but the nile perch is actually a distant relative of the snook, as well as the Australian barramundi. Best, FS