The Biology And Culture Of Tilapias

Tilapias are a major protein source in many of the developing countries. Although endemic to Africa, their distribution has been widened by artificial introductions, mainly since the 19508, to include much of the tropics and subtropics.

Tilapias have many attributes that recommend them for culture. They show excellent growth rates on low protein diets, whether cropping natural aquatic production or receiving supplementary food.

They tolerate wide ranges of environmental conditions, show little susceptibility to disease and are amenable to handling and captivity. They have a short generation time and breed in captivity.

Most important of all, they enjoy wide acceptance as food fish because of their high palatability and history of use from inland fisheries. With all these advantages, tilapias could become prime domesticated species for fish culture.

The culture of tilapias, however, is still beset with problems of rearing and general husbandry. These result from an inadequate research base on their biology, particularly behavior and physiology, and insufficient cooperation between fish biologists and culturists.

The former has often pursued limited, essentially academic studies within their specialist fields and the latter have paid inadequate attention to published information. In particular, there is a great deal of information gathered by field biologists which is relevant to the behavior, growth and reproduction of tilapias in culture systems.

This conference was convened to bring biologists and culturists together to present reviews of existing information in their specialist fields; to discuss current research areas and culture methods; to define future research requirements and to comment on any other measures which would help the future development of tilapia culture. I

t was seen as a unique opportunity to address some of the unresolved problems for researchers and culturists alike ranging from standardization of nomenclature and techniques for the development of known genetic strains and hybrids to optimization of growth and feeding and control of reproduction.

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