Oreochromis aureus

In their introduced US range, blue tilapia are usually 120 to 200 millimetres (4+3⁄4 to 7+3⁄4 in) in length,[3] and reach weights up to 5 to 6 lb (2.3 to 2.7 kg).[5] The largest recorded specimen was more than 21 in (53 cm) long and weighed more than 10 lb (4.5 kg).[5] Blue tilapia are mouthbrooders, and broods range from 160 to 1600 eggs per female.[3] O. aureus is primarily herbivorous, but occasionally consumes zooplankton;[3] the young include small invertebrates in their diet.[2]

The blue tilapia is native to Northern and Western Africa, and the Middle East. In Africa, it is native to the Senegal, Niger, Benue and lower Nile Rivers. In the Middle East, it is native to the Jordan River.[2] Through introductions, the fish can be found in the United States in Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Nevada. It has also been established in Central and South America, and Southeast Asia.[2] The original stocks of O. aureus in the United States were from Israel.[6]

The blue tilapia is primarily a fresh and brackish water fish that occurs in a wide range of habitats such as streams, rivers, lakes and ponds,[1] but it has a high tolerance for salt water and even hypersaline conditions at up to 4.5% salinity (seawater is about 3.5%).[7] It primarily occurs in waters that range from 12 to 32 °C (54–90 °F),[7] but tolerates between 8 and 40 °C (46–104 °F).[2]

Oreochromis aureus has been introduced in many places around the world for use as a food fish, and frequently in order to control aquatic vegetation.[9] Its presence may have in many cases been mis-documented as Oreochromis niloticus, because the two species were only recently distinguished.[9]

• Apparent digestibility coefficients of feed ingredients and their prediction in diets for tilapia Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aureus (Teleostei, Cichlidae)
• Raise the flag: South African veterinarian develops three-tiered tilapia-health system