Aside from the Giant Gourami, John Teodoro of Solsona, Ilocos Norte, also grows his tilapia into jumbo size, each weighing more than a kilo. (His Giant Gourami was previously featured in this blog.)

He is just growing the big tilapia for home consumption or for special occasions with friends. Photo shows Frederick D. Alejo holding a big tilapia, one of those that John served to visitors last December 8 in his farm in Brgy. Maan-anteng, Solsona.

John has eight ponds where he grows the ordinary and multi-colored tilapia, which he says, are mostly for PR.  When friends say that they want to buy his tilapia, he would just give them three kilos for free. And if he sees an idle pond, he would give the owner a few breeders also for free.

By the way, he is the general manager of the Ilocos Norte Water District.

While he does not make money from his fishponds, his money-maker is his big nursery of forest trees and ornamental plants for landscaping. Sometime back, the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative bought 120,000 mahogany seedlings for its tree planting project.