Tilapia
by William Berg
of Sweden, from his website: http://www.tilapia.ws
Reprinted with permission
Aquarticles.com
Tilapia is a genus of large cichlids with more than 100 species. They are naturally
found in Africa and in the Levant region in the Middle East, but are found today in many
waters around the world as a result of tilapia farming. Tilapia farming has been an
important food source in some areas for more than 2500 years.
Tilapia are especially well suited for farming since they are fast growing and hardy.
This has made tilapia a very important protein source in some poor areas. For example,
tilapia played a very important role for the survival of the people in Taiwan after World
War 2. Many hope that tilapia farming will be able to play an equally large role in ending
hunger in poor areas today.
The most common 'tilapia' in tilapia farms are not really tilapia, but rather fish of
the genus Oreochromis. The genus Oreochromis and Sarotherodon
are called tilapia in many languages including English, but are not tilapia in the true
sense, since they don't belong to the genus Tilapia. This said, true tilapia fish are
appreciated as food fish in many countries.
As well as being introduced to many waters around the world, tilapia have established
themselves in even more areas after escaping from farms. Tilapia can establish a strong
population in a very short time span if the conditions are right, and many biologists fear
what these newly established populations can do to the native fishes in the area. The fish
is now prohibited in Florida as a result of several populations establishing themselves in
the state. Australia is also especially sensitive to the intrusions of these fish, and is
already suffering from the effects of many other species that have established themselves
on the continent.
But that's enough general information about tilapia cichlids.
Tilapia are easy to keep in aquariums if you can offer them an aquarium that is large
enough for them. The smaller tilapia species require a tank of at least 40 gallon / 150 L
while the larger species require one of at least 70 gallon / 250 L. They prefer slightly
basic water but can without any problem be kept in waters with a pH of 6 to 8.5.
Some tilapia species are aggressive while others are rather friendly. They are best
kept with moderately aggressive fish of similar size. Don't keep them with fish that are
unable to stand their ground against the tilapia. Suitable companions include
non-territorial cichlids, large catfish, garpikes and tinfoil barbs. Most pleco type
catfish are also suitable companions.
The aquarium should be decorated with rocks and plants. The bottom is best covered with
relatively fine gravel and some flat rocks. Tilapia cichlids should not be kept with
sensitive plant species, but rather with hardier species like Anubias, Amazon swordplants,
crinum and Java fern.
They are very easy to feed and will accept just about anything you feed them. Tilapia
can be kept and breed on nothing but pellets and will usually do very well on that diet,
but it is preferable to give them a more varied diet that includes vegetables.
Some tilapia species are mouth-brooders, while many other species are substrate
spawners that lay their eggs on a flat rock or in a pit they dig. Many true tilapia
species are quite productive since the survival rate of the fry is low in their natural
habitat. Oreochromis species are mouth-brooders and usually produce quite small
fry batches. They are very easy to breed and will breed without any special needs. The fry
must be removed once the female finally releases them, since they will have a very low
survival rate if they are left in the same tank as their parents. Oreochromis
species are best breed in harem groups.
Substrate breeding tilapia protect their eggs and fry for the first few weeks.
All tilapia fry can be feed newly hatched brine shrimp from day one, and the fry of
many species are large enough to accept mashed pellets. It can sometimes be hard to find
new homes for tilapia fry so you might want to take this into consideration when you
decide how many fry to raise.
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