Oreochromis grahami, Magadi tilapia : fisheries, aquarium

You can sponsor this page

Oreochromis grahami (Boulenger, 1912)

Magadi tilapia
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Oreochromis grahami (Magadi tilapia)
Oreochromis grahami
Male picture by Seegers, L.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Oreochromis: Latin, aurum = gold + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Boulenger.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.5 - 8.5; dH range: 10 - 20. Tropical; 24°C - 32°C (Ref. 2060); 1°S - 2°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Lake Magadi in Kenya (Ref. 52331). Introduced in Lake Nakuru and Lake Elmenteita, both in Kenya (Ref. 52331). Reported as introduced to Lake Natron in Tanzania (Ref. 13364), but there is currently no evidence that any introduction led to establishment of breeding populations (Ref. 118638).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 3 - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 11; Vertebrae: 28. Mature females with an overall golden hue; males with the flanks a pale blue. Swollen and brilliant white lateral parts of the lower lip of the mature male. Blue spots on scales becoming iridescent. Genital papilla conical, prominent and yellow in the mature male; swollen in the mature female. An oblique eye-bar intensely black in the breeding male, duller in the female.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Occur at temperatures ranging from 16.0-40.0 °C (Ref. 2). Feed actively in the evening. Young O. alcalicus grahami eat eggs as they are shed by the female, and much of the time and energy of the territorial male is occupied in driving them off. Feed on invertebrates, at the surface (Ref. 2).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Male prepares a breeding pit, the structure of which may vary with the nature of the substratum. Breeding activities are more actively pursued by both sexes in the morning than in the afternoon. Female lays about 3-10 eggs at a time, picks them up instantly and the male swims with his genital papilla near the mouth, probably emitting sperm. Brooding period reportedly 12-16 days.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Seegers, L. and H. Tichy, 1999. The Oreochromis alcalicus flock (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from lakes Natron and Magadi, Tanzania and Kenya, with descriptions of two new species. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 10(2):97-146. (Ref. 32272)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (B1ab(i,ii,iii)); Date assessed: 16 June 2022

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: ; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01905 (0.00827 - 0.04391), b=3.01 (2.82 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.8   ±0.28 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (14 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.