Tilapia

Tilapia is a large cichlid genus that contains over 100 species. They are naturally present in Africa & in the Levant region in the Middle East. They are today present in a large amount of waters around the globe due to Tilapia farming around the globe. Tilapia farming has been an important food source in some areas for over 2500 years.

Tilapia is well suited for farming since they are fast growing & hardy. This has made Tilapia a important protein source in some poor areas. Lots of hope that Tilapia farming will be able to play an equal large role in ending hunger in poor areas today. The most common Tilapias in tilapia farms are not Tilapias but fish of the genus Oreochromis. The genus Oreochromis & Sarotherodon are called Tilapia in lots of languages including English but are not tilapias in the true sense since they don't belong to the genus Tilapia.
The food values of Tilapia fish have meant that they have been introduced to lots of waters around the globe. They have established themselves in even more areas after escaping from farms. Tilapia cichlids can establish strong population in a short time span if the conditions are right & lots of biologists fear what these newly established populations can do to the native fishes in the area. The fear is large in florid where the fish now is prohibited due to several populations establishing themselves in the state. Australia is another area that are sensitive to the intrusions of these fish & are already suffering from the effects of lots of other species that have established themselves on the continent.
Tilapia are simple to keep in aquariums in the event you can offer them an aquarium that are large for them, The smaller Tilapia species requires an aquarium of at least 40 gallon / 150 L while the larger species requires an aquarium of at least 70 gallon / 250 L. They prefer slightly basic water but can without any issue be kept in water with a pH of 6-8.5. Some Tilapia species are aggressive while other is friendly. They are best kept with moderate aggressive fish of similar size. Don't keep them with fish that are unable to stand their ground against the Tilapias. Suitable companions include non-territorial cichlids, large catfish, garpikes & tinfoil barbs.
The aquarium ought to be decorated with a rocks & plants. The bottom is best covered with comparatively fine gravel & some flat rocks. Tilapia cichlids ought to not be kept with sensitive plant species but with hardier species like Anubias, Amazon swordplants, crinum & java fern.

They are simple to feed & will accept anything you feed them. They can without issue be kept on a diet of pellets but it is preferable to give them a more varied diet that includes vegetables. This said, Tilapia can be kept & breed on nothing but pellets & will usually do well on that diet.

Substrate breeding tilapias protect their eggs & fry in the work of the first few weeks. All tilapia fry can be feed newly hatched brine shrimp from day & the fry of lots of species are large to accept mashed pellets. It can sometimes be hard to find new homes for Tilapia fry so you may need to take this aspect in to consideration when you pick how lots of fry to raise.