Common names

Types of tilapia

9 species carry tilapia in an English common name. They sit in 1 family, so the group is a name, not a scientific rank.

About tilapia

Tilapia (/ t ɪ ˈ l ɑː p i ə / tih- LAH -pee-ə) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most important species placed in the Coptodonini and Oreochromini. Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish native to Africa and the Middle East, inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes, and less commonly found living in brackish water. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisanal fishing in Africa, and they are of increasing importance in aquaculture and aquaponics. Tilapia can become a problematic invasive species in new warm-water habitats such as Australia, whether deliberately or accidentally introduced, but generally not in temperate climates due to their inability to survive in cold water.

Traditionally a popular and affordable food in the Philippines with a mild taste, tilapia has been the fourth-most consumed fish in the United States since 2002, favored for its low cost and easy preparation. It is commonly fried or broiled as part of a dish.

Etymology

The common name "tilapia" is based on the name of the cichlid genus Tilapia, which is itself a latinization of either tlhapi, the Tswana word for 'fish', or the Greek word tilon, referring to a fish mentioned by Aristotle, combined with apios, meaning 'distant'. Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith named the genus in 1840.

History

The aquaculture of Nile tilapia dates from Ancient Egypt, where it was represented by the hieroglyph K1, of the Gardiner list: 𓆛.

The fish symbolized rebirth in Egyptian art, and was associated in Egyptian belief-systems with Hathor, goddess of fertility and abundance. The tilapia was also said to accompany and protect the sun god on his daily journey across the sky.

Tilapia were one of the three main types of fish caught in Talmudic times from the Sea of Galilee, specifically the Galilean comb (Sarotherodon galilaeus). It is sometimes known by the name "St. Peter's fish", which comes from the narrative in the Gospel of Matthew about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its mouth. Though the passage does not name the fish, several tilapia species are found in the Sea of Galilee, where the narrative recounts the event that took place. These species have been the target of small-scale artisanal fisheries in the area for thousands of years.

Characteristics

Tilapia typically have laterally compressed, deep bodies. Like other cichlids, their lower pharyngeal bones are fused into a single tooth-bearing structure. A complex set of muscles allows the upper and lower pharyngeal bones to be used as a second set of jaws for processing food (cf. morays), allowing a division of labor between the "true jaws"(mandibles) and the" pharyngeal jaws ". This means they are efficient feeders that can capture and process a wide variety of food items. Their mouths are protrusible, usually bordered with wide and often swollen lips. The jaws have conical teeth. Typically, tilapia have a long dorsal fin, and a lateral line that often breaks towards the end of the dorsal fin, and starts again two or three rows of scales below. Some Nile tilapia can grow as long as 60 centimetres (2 ft).

Other than their temperature sensitivity, tilapia exist in or can adapt to a very wide range of conditions. An extreme example is the Salton Sea, where tilapia introduced when the water was merely brackish now live in salt concentrations so high that other marine fish cannot survive.

Tilapia are also known to be mouth-brooding species, which means they carry the fertilized eggs and young fish in their mouths for several days after the yolk sac is absorbed.

Species

Historically, all tilapia have been included in their namesake genus Tilapia. In recent decades, some were moved into a few other genera, notably Oreochromis, and Sarotherodon. Even with this modification, apparently Tilapia was strongly poly– or paraphyletic. In 2013, a major taxonomic review resolved this by moving most former Tilapia spp. to several other genera. As a consequence, none of the species that are of major economic importance remain in Tilapia, but are instead placed in Coptodon, Oreochormis, and Sarotherodon.

Exotic and invasive species

Tilapia have been used as biological controls for certain aquatic plant problems. They have a preference for a floating aquatic plant, duckweed (Lemna spp.), but also consume some filamentous algae. In Kenya, tilapia were introduced to control mosquitoes, which were causing malaria, because they consume mosquito larvae, consequently reducing the numbers of adult female mosquitoes, the vector of the disease. These benefits are, however, frequently outweighed by the negative aspects of tilapia as an invasive species.

Tilapia are unable to survive in temperate climates because they require warm water. The pure strain of the blue tilapia, Oreochromis aureus, has the greatest cold tolerance and dies at 7 °C (45 °F), while all other species of tilapia die at a range of 11 to 17 °C (52 to 62 °F). As a result, they cannot invade temperate habitats and disrupt native ecologies in temperate zones; however, they have spread widely beyond their points of introduction in many fresh and brackish tropical and subtropical habitats, often disrupting native species significantly. Because of this, tilapia are on the IUCN's 100 of the World's Worst Alien Invasive Species list. In the United States, tilapia are found in much of the south, especially Florida and Texas, and as far north as Idaho, where they survive in power-plant discharge zones. Tilapia are also currently stocked in the Phoenix, Arizona, canal system as an algal growth-control measure. In a Washington, D.C. fishing report from 21 June 2024, it was reported that an angler caught a tilapia on a crankbait at the Jones Point Park under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which is on the Potomac River. Many state fish and wildlife agencies in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and elsewhere consider them to be invasive species.

Aquarium species

Larger tilapia species are generally poor community aquarium fish because they eat plants, dig up the bottom, and fight with other fish. The larger species are often raised as a food source, though, because they grow rapidly and tolerate high stocking densities and poor water quality.

Smaller West African species, such as Coelotilapia joka and species from the crater lakes of Cameroon, are more popular as aquarium fish. In specialised cichlid aquaria, tilapia can be mixed successfully with nonterritorial cichlids, armored catfish, tinfoil barbs, garpike, and other robust fish. Some species, including Heterotilapia buttikoferi, Coptodon rendalli, Pelmatolapia mariae, C. joka, and the brackish-water Sarotherodon melanotheron, have attractive patterns and are quite decorative.

Commercial species

Tilapia were originally farmed in their native Africa and Levant. Fast-growing, tolerant of stocking density, and adaptable, tilapia have been introduced to and are farmed extensively in many parts of Asia and are increasingly common aquaculture targets elsewhere.

Aquaculture

Farmed tilapia production in 2002 worldwide was about 1.5 million tonnes (1.7 million short tons) annually, with an estimated value of US$1.8 billion, about equal to those of salmon and trout.

Unlike carnivorous fish, tilapia can feed on algae or any plant-based food. This reduces the cost of tilapia farming, reduces fishing pressure on prey species, avoids concentrating toxins that accumulate at higher levels of the food chain, and makes tilapia the preferred "aquatic chickens" of the trade.

Because of their large size, rapid growth, and palatability, tilapia cichlids are the focus of major farming efforts, specifically various species of Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Coptodon (all were formerly in the namesake genus Tilapia). Like other large fish, they are a good source of protein and popular among artisanal and commercial fisheries. Most such fisheries were originally found in Africa, but outdoor fish farms in tropical countries, such as Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, are underway in freshwater lakes. In temperate zone localities, tilapiine farming operations require energy to warm the water to tropical temperatures. One method uses waste heat from factories and power stations.

At 1.3 million tonnes per annum, China is the largest tilapia producer in the world, followed by Egypt with 0.5 million. The US, by comparison, produces 10 thousand tonnes against a consumption of 2.5 million.

In modern aquaculture, wild-type Nile tilapia are not too often seen, as the dark color of their flesh is not much desired by many customers, and because it has a bit of a reputation of being a rough fish associated with poverty. However, they are fast-growing and give good fillets; leucistic ("red") breeds which have lighter meat have been developed and are very popular.

Hybrid stock is also used in aquaculture; Nile × blue tilapia hybrids are usually rather dark, but a light-colored hybrid breed known as "Rocky Mountain White" tilapia is often grown due to its very light flesh and tolerance of low temperatures.

Commercially grown tilapia are almost exclusively male, typically done by adding male sex hormone in the food to the tilapia fry, causing any potential female tilapia to change sex to male. It can also be achieved through hybridization of certain tilapia species or the use of so-called "supermales" that have homozygous male sex chromosomes (resulting in all their offspring receiving a male sex chromosome and thus becoming males). Males are preferred because they grow much faster than females. Additionally, because tilapia are prolific breeders, the presence of female tilapia results in rapidly increasing populations of small fish, rather than a stable population of harvest-size animals.

Tilapia, as a "traditional" dish, was first introduced in the Philippines in 1950 with Mozambique tilapia followed by Nile tilapia in 1972 from Thailand. Strains such as terapon (gunggong) and white goby (biyang puti) were abundant in Laguna de Bay. In 1988, WorldFish, Filipino and Norwegian researchers started aquaculture of the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT).

Other methods of tilapia population control are polyculture, with predators farmed alongside tilapia or hybridization with other species.

As food

From ancient times, the tilapia has been a source of food. Art items dating from the late 18th Dynasty, circa 1350 BCE, contain evidence of the importance of tilapia in Egypt. The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is endemic to the area and was grown in closed ponds along the Nile River.

Tilapia, introduced to the state of Tamil Nadu, India, in the 1950s as a cheap protein source, quickly spread across the state's freshwater bodies because of its ability to thrive in polluted, low-oxygen environments.

The Fisheries Research Committee has recommended the culture of this fish only in areas in the western slopes of the Western Ghats and the coastal strip between Cape Comorin and south of, and excluding river Tapti, and in districts of Tinnevelly, Madurai and Ramnad in Madras south of and including river Vaigai. The committee has suggested further investigation to enable it to examine the question of the desirability of Tilapia culture in other parts of India.

Whole tilapia fish can be processed into skinless, boneless fillets. In some of the commercial strains, the yield has been reported up to 47% at harvest weight.

Tilapia are among the commercially important aquaculture species that are susceptible to off-flavors (others include trout, barramundi, and channel catfish). These 'muddy' or 'musty' flavors are normally caused by geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, organic products of ubiquitous cyanobacteria that are often present or bloom sporadically in water bodies and soil. These flavors are no indication of the freshness or safety of the fish, but they make the product unattractive to consumers. Simple quality-control procedures are known to be effective in ensuring the quality of fish entering the market.

Taiwan has been a significant producer and exporter of farmed tilapia. In 2023, Taiwan produced approximately 57,000 metric tons of farmed tilapia, representing about one-third of its total finfish aquaculture output, with the United States as its largest export market. Tilapia was first introduced to Taiwan in 1946, and after decades of hybridization and selective breeding the local strain was officially designated "Taiwan tilapia" in 2002. Taiwan tilapia strains have been the subject of cold-tolerance breeding programs, because tilapia are tropical fish sensitive to the relatively cool winters of subtropical Taiwan.

Tilapia have very low levels of mercury. Tilapia are low in saturated fat, calories, carbohydrates, and sodium, and are a good protein source. They also contain the micronutrients phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B 12, and potassium.

Tilapia may be a less nutritious fish than generally believed. The fish's omega-3 fatty acid content is often far lower than that of other commonly eaten fish species. Their omega-6 fatty acid levels are unusually high. Multiple studies have evaluated the effects of adding flaxseed derivatives (a vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids) to the feed of farmed tilapia. These studies have found that both the more common omega-3 fatty acid found in flax, ALA and the two types almost unique to animal sources (DHA and EPA), increased in the fish fed this diet. Guided by these findings, tilapia farming techniques could be adjusted to address the nutritional criticisms directed at the fish, while retaining its advantage as an omnivore capable of feeding on economically and environmentally inexpensive vegetable protein. Adequate diets for salmon and other carnivorous fish can alternatively be formulated from protein sources such as soybean, although soy-based diets with soy oil may also change the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

Ecological agent

Tilapia serves as a natural, biological control for most aquatic plant problems. They consume floating aquatic plants, such as duckweed watermeal (Lemna spp.), most "undesirable" submerged plants, and most forms of algae. In the United States and countries such as Thailand, they are becoming the plant-control method of choice, reducing or eliminating the use of toxic chemicals and heavy metal-based algaecides. However, their environmental impact as an invasive species may outweigh their ecological benefit. Their tolerance for a wide range of environmental conditions allows them to thrive in polluted or otherwise degraded aquatic habitats. Arkansas stocks many public ponds and lakes to help with vegetation control. In Kenya, tilapia help control mosquitoes, which carry malaria parasites.

Tilapia can be farmed with shrimp in a symbiotic manner, positively enhancing the productive output of both.

Medical use

In Brazil, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fish skin applied as a bandage was first used in a 2017 clinical trial to treat burn injuries, after successful trial in rats. In the United States, tilapia skin has been used to successfully treat third-degree wounds to the paws of two black bears caught in California's Thomas wildfire, and also to treat burns on the paws of a black bear from California's Carr wildfire. Nile tilapia skin has completed a phase III clinical trial for superficial partial-thickness burns. The fish skin group showed faster healing, lower pain, reduced dressing changes, and lower treatment costs compared to silver sulfadiazine cream control.

Nile tilapia skin has also been used in neovaginoplasty as a skin graft material, for Müllerian agenesis, vaginal stenosis, and gender-affirming surgery.

The skin-growing properties of tilapia skin are believed to be linked to its high type I collagen content and structural similarities to human skin. The material is also quite strong despite its low thickness. The current procedure for skin use calls for chemical sterilization with chlorhexidine, immersion in glycerol, followed by gamma ray sterilization, plus a few washes with saline in between.

Parasites

As with most fish, tilapia harbor a variety of parasites. For the monogeneans, these especially include species of the megadiverse genus Cichlidogyrus, which are gill parasites. Species of Enterogyrus are parasites in the digestive system. Tilapia, as an important aquaculture fish, has been introduced widely all over the world, and often carries their monogenean parasites with them. In South China, a 2019 study has shown that nine species of monogeneans were carried by introduced tilapia.

Tilapia species in focus

These species profiles show how members of the group differ. Their biology describes each named species, rather than every fish in the group.

Spotted Tilapia

The spotted tilapia (Pelmatolapia mariae), also known as the spotted mangrove cichlid or black mangrove cichlid, is a species of fish of the cichlid family. It is native to fresh and brackish water in West and Central Africa, but has been introduced to other regions where it is considered invasive.

Spotted tilapia have high fecundity, simple food requirements and extensive tolerance of environmental variables such as water temperature, salinity, and pollution. These characteristics allow spotted cichlids to rapidly populate many areas that have an appropriate habitat. Typically spotted tilapia tend to be an aggressive and territorial species, and research has found that internal reproductive androgenic factors can overrule the effect of size on dominance encounters in this species.

Appearance

Spotted tilapia have a short rounded snout and three anal spines. They are dark olive green to light yellowish in colour and have eight or nine dark bars on their sides which are more evident in young spotted tilapia than adults. They also have two to six dark spots between the bars on the middle of their side and they reach a maximum standard length of 32.3 cm (1.1 ft). Spotted tilapia have a rapid growth rate and maturation time.

Habitat

Spotted tilapia are native to Africa from the Côte d'Ivoire to Ghana, and Benin to Cameroon. They have also established large feral populations outside of their native ranges, such as in Florida and Australia. Spotted tilapia live in a variety of habitats. They have been found in both still and flowing waters, in shallow and deep water, in places where there is both little or no coverage and in rocky and debris-strewn areas.

Breeding and parental care

Like several other tilapiine cichlids, the spotted tilapia is notable for its adaptability and prolific breeding. spotted tilapia breed when they are about 15 cm (6 in) long and generally breed year long with peaks in November, March–April and July–September. They lay up to 1800 eggs usually on submerged logs, rocks or plants and the eggs hatch after approximately three days.

Spotted tilapia are monogamous fish who engage in biparental care, and research has found that the size of the eggs tend to increase with the amount of parental care. The males and females both have very specific roles in parenting and work together to ensure the well being of their offspring. The females prepare the nest by clearing an area on rocky substrate. After spawning, the females take care of all embryo tending while males stay about 2 to 3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) away and remain mostly inactive except for an occasional feeding or chasing away of predators. When the offspring become two to three days old they rise off the nest and form a school. This causes a dramatic change in parental role as the male becomes active and the female begins to spend more time away from the young, guarding ahead of the school by chasing away predators. Parental care continues until the fish are about 2.5 to 3 cm (1.0–1.2 in). This biparental behaviour could help explain why black tilapia are able to live in many different habitats and become dominant over other fish populations in the same area.

Read the full species guide.

Redbelly Tilapia

The redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, syn. Tilapia zillii), also known as the Zille's redbreast tilapia or St. Peter's fish (a name also used for other tilapia in Israel), is a species of fish in the cichlid family. This fish is found widely in fresh and brackish waters in the northern half of Africa and the Middle East. Elsewhere in Africa, Asia, Australia and North America, it has been introduced as a food fish or as a control of aquatic vegetation. Where introduced, it sometimes becomes invasive, threatening the local ecology and species. The redbelly tilapia is an important food fish and sometimes aquacultured.

The species was named by Paul Gervais in honor of M. (probably Monsieur) Zill, a "distinguished naturalist" who collected the type specimen and sent it to Gervais.

Native distribution and taxonomy

In Africa, the native range of the redbelly tilapia covers the northern half of the continent. In tropical West to Central Africa, from coastal southern Morocco and the Senegal River to the central Congo River basin, its range is almost continuous. In northeastern Africa the redbelly tilapia occurs throughout much of the Nile basin, from its delta in northern Egypt to Lake Albert in DR Congo – Uganda, as well Lake Turkana in Ethiopia – Kenya; it is not native to the other African Great Lakes, although it has been introduced to some of them. In the Maghreb and Sahara where fewer aquatic habitats are available, the range is much more spotty but with several relict populations in seasonal rivers, lakes and oases (gueltas). Outside Africa, its natural distribution is limited to the Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel, Jordan and Syria, as well as coastal systems in Israel.

Cichlids are numerous in Africa, but in parts of the redbelly tilapia's range it is one of the few members of the family. In the Maghreb and Sahara (excluding the species-rich Nile), the only others are the blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) and mango tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus), and a couple of Astatotilapia and Hemichromis species. In Western Asia, the only other native cichlids are a few species of oreochromine tilapias and the Jordan mouthbrooder (Astatotilapia flaviijosephi).

Habitat and ecology

The redbelly tilapia has a preference for shallow waters with vegetation, but it also occurs in more open habitats like sandy shores and as deep as 30 m (100 ft).

Although primarily a species of fresh and brackish water habitats, it tolerates high salinities, up to 4% (sea water is c. 3.5%), but the upper breeding limit is at 2.9%. The redbelly tilapia also can live in a wide range of water temperatures, but in the northern part of its range it sometimes falls below its requirements (minimum 6.5–13 °C [43.7–55.4 °F], depending on a range of factors), resulting in large numbers dying. In Alabama, it was necessary to introduce them each year to maintain a population, as they die during the winter. The upper limit typically is 36 °C (97 °F), but it can survive to 42.5 °C (108.5 °F).

Appearance

The redbelly tilapia can reach up to 300 g (11 oz) in weight and 40 cm (16 in) in length, but usually is no more than 30 cm (12 in). In the Middle East, adults typically are 12–22 cm (5–9 in) long. Males tend to grow larger than females, but otherwise the sexes are similar.

Its base color is brownish- olivaceous and the belly is yellowish or whitish. It often (for example, when agitated) has a faint/poorly defined dark pattern consisting of two horizontal lines on the body crossed by about half a dozen vertical bars. Breeding adults are more greenish overall, have iridescent blue-green spots on the head and bright pinkish-red underparts. This species very closely resembles the redbreast tilapia (C. rendalli) and the two are difficult to distinguish; many reports of introduced populations may involve either species. The two have separate natural distribution (redbelly tilapia in the northern half of Africa, redbreast tilapia in the southern half), but through introductions their ranges now overlap. Whether they can hybridize is unknown. It has hybridized with the spotted tilapia (Pelmatolapia mariae), a quite distant relative.

Read the full species guide.

Redbreast Tilapia

The redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli) is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found widely in the southern half of Africa. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is known as the redbreast kurper in South Africa.

Distribution

The species is found in the drainage basins of the upper Congo River and the Kasai River, in Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Zambezi River, and the coastal regions of the Zambezi outlet to KwaZulu-Natal, as well as in the Limpopo River, the Okavango River, and the Cunene River. They have been established as edible fish in several countries.

Description

C. rendalli grows to a maximum length of 45 cm and a maximum weight of 2.5 kg, and possesses a high-backed, sideways oblate body. Its body height is 42.2 to 49.4% of its standard length, and its head length is 31.1% to 37.5% of standard length. The top of its head is convex, or sometimes concave in large specimen due to the continued growth of the mouth region. Its mouth is studded with short, wide, thick, two-pointed teeth. Their lower pharyngeal jaw is as wide as it is long. Its toothed back area is longer than its front area. Seven to 10 gill raker streams are located on the lower branch of its first gill arch.

Its head and rump are olive-green on top and paler on the sides. Like all members of the genus Coptodon, its breast and belly are often tinted red. The flanks display a few lateral ligaments. Its olive-green dorsal fin possesses a red rim and white to grey spots on the soft streamed section.

Behaviour

C. rendalli mainly lives near river banks, in oxbow lakes, and swamps. It prefers densely vegetated areas and still waters with small amounts of current. The species has a high temperature tolerance (8 – 41 °C) and also withstands brackish water with a salt content of up to 1.9%. The young fish live on plankton; adults, like all members of the genus Coptodon, are primarily herbivores and eat algae and taller plants, as well as insects and smaller crustaceans.

Read the full species guide.

Range