Yes, looks like this can be a problem with farm raised catfish as well. Those have a little more flavor so maybe the effect is less noticeable. But I’ve still never tasted it in tilapia.
They eat shit.
When commercially farmed, they are used to clear feces from pools other fish have been in.
“…Wanna buy a toothbrush?”
Some types of tilapia are kept in aquariums as pets.
“Fish are friends, not food.” 
I’ve had muddy-tasting tilapia a couple of times, and it’s pretty nasty. That, and the fact that at best it’s flavorless, have discouraged me from buying it if I can avoid it.
Yep. And my wife wont touch tilapia since she saw some nature show about hippos in Africa, and it showed how the fish cleaned-up the other animals droppings in the water. Every time I ask her about tilapia she says “No, they eat hippo poo”.
Well, they are just big cichlids, after all. Cichlids are pretty much the least boring fish you can keep in a cheap freshwater aquarium.
Doesn’t the natural and inherit taste of ANYTHING go away when you deep fry? 
I like killies, but our Tanganyikan cichlids are pretty cool.
Nice fish. Have you looked them under a black light?
No, haven’t had one since I was a teen.
You should see the colors turn bright, and sometimes new colors and patterns show up. Some fluorescent hood lights will start up a black light bulb, a lot won’t. Makes the fish look great, though you may have to limit exposure, not sure about any long term effect.
Tilapia is one of my fave grocery-store fresh fillets.
Here is my go-to recipe. (You’re welcome.)
Rinse fillets and pat dry. Melt a pat of butter in a pan while you pre-heat oven to 375.
Meanwhile, mix 1/2 bread crumbs & 1/2 grated parmesian cheese in a small bowl. Add a dash of cayenne and another of paprika as well as 1/4 tsp of dry or more fresh chopped basil plus a dash of salt and pepper. Melt some more unsalted butter and brush the fillets in the pan, then top with the mixture, pressing it on with a fork.
Bake for 19 min max; this will be fully-cooked in most ovens.
Lobster and crayfish are both bottom-feeders as well and they’re considered delicacies. I worry more about the bacterial content of farmed fish, especially salmon; I always buy wild-caught for that reason.
I’m sure this is good, but the point of most posters in this thread is that the fish is so lacking in taste and character itself that it becomes an incidental component for all those yummy additions. You could substitute Wonder Bread or unflavored gelatine for the fish and it would be equally tasty.
My point–albeit unstated–is that the fish cooks up well and so it’s not any of them bad thangs you sez.
What isn’t it? It’s almost taste-free, except when it tastes nasty, and every recipe uses powerful flavoring agents to make it worth eating. What ends up on the plate owes far more to the condiments and spices than to the fish underneath.
But bon appetit.
The tilapia I’ve had never been muddy-tasting (so far), and I like that it’s not terribly fishy tasting. But bon appetit.
And tilapia don’t have to be bottom feaders. They can be raised in a lake or a pond inside a 3m x 3m floating pen with nylon netting.