Reproduction
of Tilapia
Taxonomy
Tilapia = “til” (Bushman dialect tone)
Tribe Tilapiini
Family Cichlidae
Oreochromis urolepsis-
Oreochromis aureus
hornorum
Oreochromis Oreochromis
spilurus macrochir
Sarotherodon
galilaeus
• 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
• 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