Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Tilapia: Bechuana, African native thiape = fish (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; depth range 3 - 8 m (Ref. 58302). Tropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 2059); 20°N - 20°S

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 17.7 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26550); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 26550); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 7248)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10; Vertebrae: 29. Head and body mid to dark olive-green dorsally, paling over the flanks. Body usually with vertical bars only and scales with a dark basal crescent. Dorsal fin olive-green with a thin red margin and white to grey dark oblique spots on the soft rays; caudal fin spotted on dorsal half and red or yellow on ventral half (Ref. 4967, 34290).

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

Africa: Kasai drainage (middle Congo River basin), throughout upper Congo River drainage, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Zambesi, coastal areas from Zambesi Delta to Natal, Okavango and Cunene (Ref. 5163). Also in the Limpopo (Ref. 55074). Introduced elsewhere usually for weed control and aquaculture. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Prefer quiet, well-vegetated water along river littorals or backwaters, floodplains and swamps. Tolerant of a wide range of temperature (8-41°C) (Ref. 3) and salinity to 19 ppt (Ref. 7248). Form schools; is mainly diurnal. Juveniles feed on plankton. Adults feed mainly on higher plants and also algae, insects and crustaceans. Make excellent eating (Ref. 5214).

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

Teugels, G.G. and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde, 1991. Tilapia. p. 482-508. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse, G.G. Teugels and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 4.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

Least Concern (LC)

Threat to humans

Potential pest

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial

FAO(Aquaculture: production; ; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

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Ecology
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Common names
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Eggs
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Age/Size
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Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01743 (-0.02146 - 0.05631), b=2.98420 (2.95952 - 3.00889), based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 2.2 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.18; tmax=7).

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Tilapia rendalli (Boulenger, 1897)