Description

Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 15; Anal spines: 3; Vertebrae: 30 - 31. Diagnosis: A large, deep-bodied species, with wide bands of teeth in the jaws (Ref. 118638). Adult males are covered with complex bright pale blue markings, over the head, flanks and unpaired fins; the background colour can vary from greyish, through yellow to bright red; the lower part of the head is grey-white; the tailfin often head a red background and the dorsal fin has a broad red margin (Ref. 118638). Females and non-territorial males are generally a plain silvery colour, with pearly spots on the flanks; they occasionally exhibit vertical bars and/or horizontal dark bars (Ref. 118638).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Oreochromis

Species: Oreochromis tanganicae (Günther, 1894)

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

It is the dominant tilapiine species in Lake Tanganyika, despite the presence of the normally invasive Nile tilapia (Ref. 118638). It is not normally found far up into inflowing rivers (Ref. 118638). It has been reported to browse the surface film of sheltered waters; stomachs contained large quantities of the diatoms Pinnularia and Navicula with some sand-grains (Ref. 2). A maternal mouthbrooder; males defend territories in shallow water in sheltered sandy or muddy areas, and dig simple pits in the substrate (Ref. 118638). A large fast-growing species well represented in fishery catches in and around Lake Tanganyika; currently being promoted as an aquaculture species and occasionally exported for the aquarium trade (Ref. 118638).

Habitat

benthopelagic