LITERATURE REVIEW OF TILAPIA
Tilapia is the common household name for nearly 100 species of cichlid
fishes. Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids
were traditionally classed in the suborder Labroidei, along with the wrasses
(Labridae) of the order Perciformes which contradicted this biological classification
due to molecular analysis techniques that were carried out on them to distinguish
them from one another. These molecular analysis techniques performed on them
include DNA barcodes, PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment
length polymorphism) and high-resolution melting (HRM analysis). Tilapia inhabit a
variety of fresh and, less commonly, brackish water habitats from shallow streams and
ponds through to rivers, lakes and estuaries. Most tilapia are omnivorous with a
preference for soft aquatic vegetation and detritus (Baker and Jenny, 1988). Cichlids
particularly Tilapia, are very essential delicacies whilst others are valued as game fish.
All tilapia species are nest builders; fertilized eggs are guarded in the nest by a brood
parent. Species of both Sarotherodon and Oreochromis are mouth brooders; eggs are
fertilized in the nest but parents immediately pick up the eggs in their mouths and hold
them through incubation and for several days after hatching. In Oreochromis species,
only females practice mouth brooding, while in Sarotherodon species either the male or
both male and female are mouth brooders. During the last half century fish farmers
throughout the tropical and semi-tropical world have begun farming tilapia. Today, all
commercially important tilapia outside of Africa belong to the genus Oreochromis, and
more than 90 percent of all commercially farmed tilapia outside of Africa are Nile
tilapia. Less commonly farmed species are blue tilapia (O. aureus), Mozambique tilapia
(O. Mossambicus) and the Zanzibar tilapia (O. urolepis hornorum). The scientific
names of tilapia species have been revised a lot in the last 30 years, creating some
confusion. The scientific name of the Nile tilapia has been given as Tilapia
nilotica, Sarotherodon niloticus, and currently as Oreochromis niloticus.
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 (Lalèyè, 2020)
Cichlids are abundant in Africa, but the redbelly tilapia is one of the rare members of
the family in areas of its range. The blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) and mango
tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus), as well as a few of Astatotilapia and Hemichromis
species, are the only others in the Maghreb and Sahara (excluding the species-rich
Nile).
Although genetic studies have revealed that the majority of redbelly tilapia populations
are very closely related, a few from the far reaches of the species' range are of dubious
taxonomic status and require further investigation although closely related, a population
in the Kisangani region appears to be distinct (Dunz,and Schliewen ,2013). Similarly,
those found along the coast of northwest Africa are genetically distinct from the rest of
the continent's populations. Although it is primarily a freshwater and brackish water
species, it can tolerate high salinities of up to 4% (sea water is around 3.5%), but the
upper breeding limit is 2.9 percent (Gophen,2018). The redbelly tilapia can grow up to
300 grams and 40 centimeters in length, but it is normally no more than 30 centimeters.
Adults in the Middle East are usually 12–22 cm tall. Males grow larger than females,
although the sexes are generally comparable (Genner and Ngatunga 2018).
REFERENCES
1. Lalèyè, P. (2020). "Coptodon zillii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
e.T183163A64508317. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T183163A64508317.en.
Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Clavero, M. Qninba, A. Riesco, M. Esquivias, J., Calzada, J., & Delibes M. (2017).
Fish in Moroccan desert rives: the arid extreme of Mediterranean streams. Fishes in
Mediterranean Environments, 3, 1-21.
3. Genner, M. J., Turner, G. F., & Ngatunga, B. P. (2018). A guide to the tilapia fishes
of Tanzania.
