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Tilapiine cichlids
Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus niloticus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Cichlidae
Genera
Oreochromis A. Günther,1889 Sarotherodon W. P. E. S. Rüppell, 1852 Tilapia Smith, 1840

Tilapia is the common name used for a variety of cichlid fishes of the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia and is approximately equivalent to a taxonomic grouping known as the tilapiine cichlids. Tilapias inhabit a variety of fresh and, less commonly, brackish water habitats from shallow streams and ponds through to rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Most tilapias are omnivorous with a preference for soft aquatic vegetation and detritus. They have historically been of major importance in artisanal fishing in Africa and the Levant, and are of increasing importantance in aquaculture around the world. Where tilapia have been deliberately or accidentally introduced, they have frequently become problematic invasive species.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Tilapia as a biological control 3 Tilapia in aquaculture 4 Tilapia as an invasive species 5 Tilapia in aquaria 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 Further reading 9 References

The common name tilapia is based on the name of the cichlid genus Tilapia, which is itself a latinisation of the Tswana word for "fish", thiape, [1] and coined by Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith in 1840. [2]

Tilapias have been used as biological controls for certain aquatic plant problems. They have a preference for a floating aquatic plant, duckweed (Lemna sp.) but also consume some filamentous alga [3]. These benefits are, however, frequently outweighed by the negative aspects of tilapia as invasive species (see Tilapia as exotic species). In Kenya tilapia were introduced to control the spread of malaria, because they consume mosquito larvae, which consequently reduces the numbers of adult female mosquitos, which are the vector of the disease.

Main article: Tilapia in aquaculture

Main article: Tilapia as exotic species

The larger tilapias are generally not viewed as good community aquarium fish because they eat plants and tend to be very disruptive, digging up the substrate and fighting with other fish. The smaller west African species, such as Tilapia joka, and those species from the crater lakes of Cameroon are, by contrast, relatively popular. Conversely, in cichlid aquariums tilapias can be mixed well with non-territorial cichlids, armoured catfish, tinfoil barbs, garpike, and other robust but peaceful fish. Some species, including Tilapia buttikoferi, Tilapia rendalli, Tilapia joka, and the brackish water Sarotherodon melanotheron melanotheron, are attractively patterned and decorative fish.

Certain species of tilapia are sometimes called St. Peter's fish from the account in the Christian Bible (Matthew 17:24−27) about Peter catching a fish that carried a shekel coin in its mouth, with the dark spots on the sides of the fish being the fingermarks of the saint. Although the name is also applied to the John Dory, a marine fish not found in the Sea of Galilee, one tilapia is found there, Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus, and has been the target of small-scale artisanal fisheries for thousands of years.^[1]

In some Asian countries including the Philippines, large tilapia are called pla-pla.^{[citation needed]}

• Tilapiine cichlid
• Tilapia in aquaculture
• Tilapia as exotic species
• Genus Tilapia
• Genus Sarotherodon
• Genus Oreochromis

E. Trewavas (1983) Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. Published by the British Museum (Natural History), London. 583 pages. ISBN 0-565-00878-1.