Biology and

Reproduction
of Tilapia
 Taxonomy
Tilapia = “til” (Bushman dialect tone)
Tribe Tilapiini
Family Cichlidae

Three main genera under Family Cichlidae

• Oreochromis
• Sarotherodon
• Tilapia
 Main Species of Tilapia of Importance
in Aquaculture
Genus Importance Species in Aquaculture
Oreochromis O. niloticus (Nile tilapia)
O. mossambicus (Java or Mozambique)
O. aureus (Blue tilapia)
O. urolepsis-hornorum (zanzibar tilapia)
O. andersoni
O. macrochir
O. spilurus
Sarotherodon S. galilaeus
Tilapia T. zilli (Zill’s tilapia)
T. rendalli
 Oreochromis
Oreochromis niloticus
mossambicus

Oreochromis urolepsis-
Oreochromis aureus
hornorum
Oreochromis Oreochromis
spilurus macrochir

Sarotherodon
galilaeus

Tilapia zilli Tilapia rendalli

Field guide for identifying tilapia species in the Philippines
SPECIES GILL COLOR OF BODY & FINS
RAKER
O. niloticus 18-26 Reddish to white prominent bars on
caudal fin; stripes on dorsal and anal fins
O. mossambicus 14-23 Dark color; bright orange margin of
dorsal and caudal fin
O. aureus 17-24 Bluish color; red margin of dorsal, caudal
and anal fins
O. spirulus 15-19 Red orange margins to dorsal and caudal
fins , bright sky-blue areas on dorsal, anal
and pelvic fins
T. zilli 8-12 Greenish-yellow color; yellow green
spots on dorsal and caudal fins; red breast
Red Tilapia 15-24 Bright in color
Most commonly available strains of Nile tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus) in the Philippines
Common Other Origin Date of Characteristics
Name Name Introduction
Israel Ghana- Ghana 1979 High fecundity,
Israel moderate growth
Thai Egypt- Egypt 1987 Moderate to fast
BFAR growth
Swansea Egypt- Egypt 1989 Fast growth, good
Swansea or survival
GMT
GIFT Mixed 1991 Fast growth, good
survival, late
maturation
Red Golden Taiwan 1979 Red or pink with
Tilapia tilapia, black blotches,
Pearl fish, moderate growth,
Gintong low fecundity
biyaya
General Description
• Bony fishes possess 2 pairs of nares
• Head incompletely covered with scales
• Single well developed dorsal fin
• Pelvic fins have an outer spine and 5 soft
rays; located well forward on the trunk
• Mouth is protractile
• Jaws equipped with teeth
• Lateral line of the body is interrupted and
usually in two parts
Oreochromis niloticus L.
 Sex Identification
• Female
– 3 openings; anus, genital pore, urinary pore

• Male
– 2 opening in front of the anal fin;
• large opening - anus
• smaller opening - urogenital pore
Tilapia Introduction to the Philippines
Species Year Origin Agency
O. mossambicus 1950 Thailand BFAR
O. urolepsis hornorum x 1971 Singapore Private sector
O. mossambicus
O. niloticus (Uganda) 1972 Israel LLDA
O. niloticus (Egypt) 1972 Thailand BFAR
T. zilli 1973 Taiwan (?) ?
O. aureus 1977 USA CLSU
O. niloticus (Ghana) 1977 Israel CLSU
O. niloticus (Ghana) 1977 Singapore BFAR
O. aureus (Israel) 1977 Singapore BFAR
O. aureus (Israel) 1978 Singapre SEAFDEC
O. niloticus (Ghana) 1979 Taiwan SEAFDEC
O. aureus 1979 Lake Hule, Israel CLSU/ICLARM
O. aureus 1979 Israel, Origin Ghana CLSU/ICLARM
Red tilapia (hybrid) 1979 Taiwan SEAFDEC
Red Tilapia 1981 Taiwan Private sector
O. aureus (Israel) 1982 Israel Private sector
O. niloticus (Ghana) 1982 Israel Private sector
Red Tilapia 1982 Taiwan Private sector
O. niloticus (Egypt) 1988
O. niloticus (Egypt) 1989
O. niloticus (Ghana) 1988
O. niloticus (Kenya) 1989
O. niloticus (Senegal) 1988
 Reproduction in tilapia

• Maternal brooding - females who collects and

broods the eggs and fry in the mouth
• Substratum spawners/brooder - eggs are
deposited on solid surface and the parents
guarded the eggs and young
• Paternal brooding - involves protection of the
eggs and young in the mouth of the male
 Reproductive biology of tilapia

• Nest building and courtship

• Ovulation and spawning
• Incubation
• Nursing
• Feeding and recovery
Feeds and Feeding
• Basically herbivorous
• Feeding regime varies extremely depending on
species, size & age, space occupied by fish and
time of the year
• Larvae, fry and early juvenile stages of all tilapia
are omnivorous and feed on small invertebrates,
especially crustaceans, benthic organisms and
detritus
• Over 5 cm relies entirely on phytoplankton
• Adapt readily on prepared diet/feed
• Feed conversion ratios can be as low as 1 to 1.5
especially if natural food is available
 Feeding Habits
Diet for adult tilapia in natural habitat

• O. niloticus - phytoplankton
• O. mossambicus - phytoplankton, benthic algae,
periphyton, zooplankton, fish larvae
and eggs, detritus
• O. aureus - phytoplankton, zooplankton
• S. galilaeus - aquatic macrophytes,
filamentous algae, bentic invertebrates
• T. zilli - aquatic macrophytes, filamentous
algae, benthic invertebrates
• T. rendalli - aquatic macrophytes, filamentous
algae, attached periphyton
Ecological Requirements of Tilapia

• Temperature (oC) - 8 - 40 oC
• Salinity (ppt) - < 20 - 35
• Dissolved oxygen - 4 mg/liter
• pH - 6.5 - 9
• Lethal ammonia levels - > 20 mg/liter
• Lethal carbon dioxide conc. - > 73 mg/liter
• Turbidity - for clear ponds - <25 ppm
- for intermediate ponds - 25-100 ppm
Population Control in Tilapia

Non-genetic Methods

– Use of Predators
– Monosex culture
– Reproductive sterilization
– Cage culture
– Stocking at high density
– Environmental Management
Genetic Methods

– Interspecific Hybridization

– Sex reversal

– Polyploidy

– Gynogenesis

– YY-male technology