Cichlidae

Nile tilapia

Oreochromis niloticus

Two hundred eggs sheltered in the maternal mouth

• Green
• Yellow
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• Africa
• Compressed
• Compressed cross-section
• Large
• Tropical fish

Epitomizing physiological adaptability and complex reproductive care, the Nile tilapia is an influential cichlid originally native to the expansive river and lake basins of tropical Africa. Its deep, robust, laterally compressed form displays an olive-grey or bronze body marked with six to nine dark vertical bars across the flanks. The most reliable visual signature distinguishing it from other tilapias is the regular, unbroken vertical black striping extending across the entire height of the rounded caudal fin. Indigenous to the Nile basin, West African coastal rivers, and the East African Rift Valley, it tolerates extreme ranges of temperature, high turbidity, and low dissolved oxygen levels down to depths of twenty meters. As an omnivorous grazer, it exploits floating duckweed, benthic filamentous algae, diatoms, and aquatic insect larvae with equal efficiency. Reproduction features remarkable maternal mouthbrooding: after the male excavates a sand depression to fertilize eggs, the female gathers the entire brood into her oral cavity, guarding and aerating eggs and newborn fry until the yolk sac is absorbed. Maximum total length is recorded at sixty centimetres.

Sources: FishBase & FAO — Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus