Tilapia

Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish. These fish are mainly found in freshwater environments like streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes in Africa and the Middle East. They are also sometimes found in brackish water.

Historically, tilapia has been very important for fishing communities in Africa. Today, it is becoming more important in aquaculture and aquaponics, which are ways of farming fish.

In many places, tilapia is a popular and affordable food. In the Philippines, it has always been a favorite. In the United States, tilapia has been the fourth-most consumed fish since 2002 because it is low cost and easy to prepare. People often fry or broil tilapia to make delicious dishes.

While tilapia is useful, it can sometimes become an invasive species in new warm-water habitats, such as in Australia, if it is introduced there deliberately or accidentally. However, it usually does not survive in colder climates.

Etymology

The name "tilapia" comes from an old group of fish called Tilapia. This name was created from either a word in the Tswana language meaning 'fish' or from Greek words that describe a special type of fish. A scientist named Andrew Smith gave this name to the group of fish in the year 1840.

History

The farming of Nile tilapia goes back to Ancient Egypt, where it was shown by a special symbol in their writing.

In Egyptian culture, the tilapia fish stood for new life and was linked to Hathor, the goddess of growth and plenty. People believed the tilapia traveled with the sun god each day as he moved across the sky.

Tilapia was one of the main fishes caught long ago in the Sea of Galilee. It is sometimes called "St. Peter's fish" because of a story in the Gospel of Matthew where the apostle Peter caught a fish that had a coin in its mouth. Many kinds of tilapia live in the Sea of Galilee, where people have been catching them for many years.

Characteristics

Tilapia usually have flat, deep bodies. Like other fish in their group, their lower throat bones are fused into one strong structure with teeth. Special muscles let them use these throat bones like a second set of jaws, helping them eat different kinds of food. This makes them good at catching and chewing what they find.

Their mouths can stretch out, often with big lips, and they have cone-shaped teeth. Tilapia usually have a long back fin and a line along their sides that may break near the end of that fin. Some Nile tilapia can grow up to 60 centimetres, which is about 2 feet long.

Besides needing the right temperature, tilapia can live in many different places. For example, in the Salton Sea, tilapia were placed there when the water was only a little salty, but now they live where the salt is so strong that other sea fish cannot survive.

Tilapia are also known for carrying their eggs and tiny babies in their mouths for several days after the babies’ yolk sacs disappear.

Species

All tilapia were once grouped together under the name Tilapia. Recently, scientists moved many types into other groups, such as Oreochromis and Sarotherodon. Today, the most important types for farming are found in these new groups, not in the old Tilapia group.

Tilapia have been used to help control some water plants and tiny creatures. In Kenya, they were added to water to eat mosquito babies, which helps stop the spread of malaria. However, tilapia can sometimes cause problems when they spread to new places where they don’t belong. They need warm water to survive, so they usually don’t live in colder areas. But in warm places, they can grow quickly and change the balance of nature.

Some smaller tilapia types are popular in aquariums because of their colorful patterns. Larger types are often raised for food because they grow fast and can live in crowded, not-so-clean water.

Tilapia are easy to farm because they eat plants and algae, which saves money and helps the environment. They grow quickly and are a good source of protein. Many countries now farm tilapia, especially in warm places. Farmers often make sure their tilapia are all males because male fish grow faster and help keep the population under control.

As food

Tilapia has been an important food source for a very long time. Ancient art from around 1350 BCE in Egypt shows how important this fish was. One type, called Nile tilapia, comes from that area and was raised in special ponds along the Nile River.

Tilapia was brought to Tamil Nadu, India, in the 1950s as a way to provide affordable protein. It spread quickly because it can live in dirty water with low oxygen. Scientists have suggested growing tilapia only in certain parts of India, like the western slopes of the Western Ghats and areas along the coast between Cape Comorin and south of river Tapti, including districts like Tinnevelly, Madurai, and Ramnad in Madras south of river Vaigai.

Tilapia is often processed into fillets without skin or bones. Sometimes, it can taste unpleasant because of natural substances in the water, but this does not mean the fish isn’t fresh or safe to eat. Tilapia has very little mercury and is low in fat, calories, and sodium. It is a good source of protein and contains important nutrients like phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B₁₂, and potassium. However, it may not be as nutritious as some other fish because it has less of a certain healthy fat called omega-3 and more of another kind called omega-6. Researchers are studying ways to improve tilapia’s nutrition by changing its diet.

Ecological agent

Tilapia are helpful because they eat floating plants, like duckweed and watermeal, as well as many underwater plants and types of algae. In places like the United States and Thailand, people use tilapia to control unwanted plants instead of using harmful chemicals. However, tilapia can sometimes cause problems in new places where they are not natural.

In Kenya, tilapia help by eating things that carry malaria parasites, which can make people sick. They can also be raised together with shrimp, which helps both grow better.

Medical use

In Brazil, scientists tested using the skin from a type of tilapia fish called Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a bandage to help heal burns. They first tried it on rats, and it worked well, so they tried it on people with burns in 2017. In the United States, tilapia skin has helped heal serious burns on the paws of black bears affected by wildfires in California and California. Tests show that tilapia skin can help burns heal faster, cause less pain, need fewer dressing changes, and cost less than other treatments.

Tilapia skin is also used in surgeries to help rebuild skin. This is possible because tilapia skin contains a special protein called type I collagen that is similar to human skin. Before using it, the skin is cleaned with special liquids and treated to make it safe.

Parasites

Like most fish, tilapia can carry different kinds of parasites. Some of these parasites, called monogeneans, live on the gills of tilapia and include species from the genus Cichlidogyrus. Others, like species of Enterogyrus, live in the digestive system. Because tilapia are commonly farmed for food, they have been moved around the world, and sometimes they bring their parasites with them. In South China, a study in 2019 found nine types of these parasites on introduced tilapia.