On the shelves of our shops and at homefarms aquarists today, you can often see such species of fish, which only recently could be read only in encyclopedias. A striking example of this is tilapia.
Who is she?
Let us consider in more detail what istilapia. What kind of fish is this? This is a fairly large genus belonging to the family of Cichlids (Cichlid). It includes at least hundreds of species that are common in the tropics and subtropics. Until recently ichthyologists shared an extensive genus with two others: Oreochromis and Sarotherodon.
To date, this division has been abolished,Since the differences between representatives of these species are minimal. In addition, experts have always added complications to the fact that in natural conditions tilapia is a fish prone to interspecific crossing.
As a result, even in the natural reservoirs of Africa there are so many hybrids that it is often impossible for even an experienced zoologist to understand their diversity.
The name of the whole family gave it the largestrepresentative, which to this day lives in the region of African Lake Malawi. Some scientists argue that the emergence of such an unusual "name" contributed to the famous Aristotle himself.
Appearance and biological features
Appearance is quite specific, as shorta body with rough outlines is somewhat in tune with its height, which in some species is 2.5 times its length. The head is also massive and somewhat coarse. Juveniles and females do not have a rich color.
Their color is dominated by grayish andsilver color. On the posterior margin of the operculum, they have a rather large roundish spot. This color is associated with the habitats where tilapia fish are found in nature: where this species is found, there are a lot of bottom sediments and stones at the bottom, among which there are practically no plants for masking.
Males are much more beautiful:The color is dominated by green with a metallic sheen. During the period of mating games, four large white spots appear on the sides, the lower lip and the gill cover also acquire a white tint. As soon as the male reaches puberty, its pectoral fins become saturated red, and the body becomes velvety black. There are white specks on the dorsal and caudal fin.
Зубы у этих рыб развиты слабо, короткие.The scales are large. The nature of the food gives the intestines: it is extremely long, forms a very large number of loops. This is due to the fact that tilapia (what kind of fish, you already know) eats a large amount of purely vegetable food.
Note that one of the unique featuresthese fish is their sexual dimorphism. In fact, males and females are clearly distinguishable, but in most cases the gender of them is a rather conventional concept, since with a certain combination of external and internal factors, nutrition or temperature of the external environment males can turn out from females.
Проще говоря, среди представителей этого вида about 70% of hidden hermaphrodites. That is why this fish has become so widespread: only a couple of individuals of either sex can be released into the reservoir, so that after a couple of years a whole population already lives in it.
Power type
Despite the predominance of vegetation in food,these fish may rightly be called omnivorous. Types of aurea, Mary, as well as their Nile and Mozambican species feed on any organic matter.
If we talk about melanopleusa and tsilli, thenthey are generally practically pure vegetarians. In general, scientists have already written more than a dozen monographs about the huge role of these species in the disposal of bottom sediments.
Historic homeland is considered to be East Africa.These species are widely distributed in Zanzibar and Natal. In ancient times, they spread widely throughout Israel (where tilapia is known as “St. Peter's Fish” since biblical times), Jordan and Syria. Beginning in 1830 (thanks to the French expeditions), their massive expansion in Southeast Asia began.
In our country, fish tilapia (which photo is inarticle) was brought by aquarists. There is evidence that this was done before 1917. Beginning in 1960, it began to be purposefully cultivated in cooling ponds of nuclear power plants, thermal power plants and other industrial facilities, since under these conditions tilapia's ability to destroy aquatic vegetation becomes important. In the southern regions (Krasnodar, for example) from artificial reservoirs, these fish fell into rivers and ponds.
Notes for aquarists
If you are interested in breeding tilapia in conditionshome aquarium, it must be borne in mind that the males of these species are distinguished by extreme individualism, needing a large aquarium with a decent bottom area.
For aquarists, they are extremely interesting to theirdiverse behaviors and the ability to make contact with a person. So, they quickly begin to recognize their master, easily distinguish him from other people, take food from his hands with willingness and complete fearlessness.
Economic importance
Но в нашей стране большинство видов этих рыб known not because of their interesting behavior. The fact is that on the shelves of grocery stores you can see a strange "river chicken" or "sea chicken." So how is tilapia grown? Indeed, in natural reservoirs such a catch volume would have long ago put an end to its fishery!
As we have said, its industrial scaleOften bred in various cooling ponds. But most of the food tilapia is bred today in Southeast Asia, where you can often see giant fish farms. They look like hundreds of small obstructed ponds.
Generally, growing these fish is extremelyprofitable business from an economic point of view. Since they eat almost everything, you will not incur big expenses. Unfortunately, promiscuity in food often plays a bad joke with end users.
So, some Asian farmers use tofeeding them manure. There is nothing unnatural in this, since tilapia perfectly assimilate recycled fiber, but the problem lies in the helminth eggs, which can then remain for a long time in the fish itself.
Why did the representatives of this kind of steelso common in aquaculture around the world? And we are talking not only about Asian countries, but even about North America, where red tilapia was bred especially for breeding in power stations and some industrial enterprises.
The thing is that the meat of these fish is differentexcellent taste, contains many valuable amino acids and vitamins. In addition, industrial condition (from fry to carcass) tilapia comes in just a couple of months, while consuming junk plant waste or completely feeding on weeds in ponds.
That is why tilapia (what kind of fish we have been told about) has become the second most common industrial aquaculture object, second only to some varieties of carp.
