Pest fish profiles Tilapia Mariae – Spotted Tilapia Overview Detailed information
Synonyms Classification Appearance Size Natural & introduced distru...
Common names: Spotted Tilapia. Also known as Black Mangrove Cichlid, Niger Cichlid or Tiger Cichlid.
Reproduction: T.mariae Reaches sexual maturity at 10-15cm length. Parents prepare nest site on logs, leaves and debris. Eggs (300-6000) are guarded by parents and hatch in 1-3 days. Parents stay around until fish are free swimming.
Appearance: Both sexes are similar in size and appearance. Adults have a strongly compressed and oval-shaped body, with large eyes, rounded snout and small mouth with thickened lips. Three anal spines and short, rounded snout. Dark olive green to light yellow green with 8-9 dark bars (less evident in adults) and 2-6 large dark spots along middle of side between the bars.
Ecological tolerances: There is limited published information on the physiological tolerances of T. mariae. The species is eurythermal with upper and lower lethal temperatures of 37°C and 11°C respectively, and a preffered temperature range of 25-33°C (Siemien and Stauffer 1989).
Size: Maximum size: 30-40cm total length (TL), but can mature and reproduce at smaller sizes (9-18cm TL).
Ecological impacts: There is very little information on the ecological impacts of T. mariae in its introduced range including northern Queensland. The species is territorial and aggressive during the spawning season while non-breeding fish are generally non-aggressive and nonterritorial.
Natural and introduced distribution: It occurs in coastal lagoons from southern Cameroon to the Ivory Coast, in western equatorial Africa. It has been introduced into three countries: the former USSR, the USA and Australia. Habitat: Inhabits still or flowing waters in rocky or mud-bottom areas, in both non-tidal and estuarine reaches. Diet: Tilapia mariae is primarily a planktivore (feeding on unicell algae), but is an opportunistic feeder on filamentous alagae, cyanobacteria (blue-greens), detritus, leafy aquatic plants, invertebrates and fish eggs. The species has numerous, fine teeth with moveable slender shafts adapted for rasping and grinding. It has numerous gill rakers for sifting small food particles and has a long gut (x2.9 its body length) which is characteristic of a herbivorous (plant) or plankton feeder.
