Way back when I was investigating the vast possibilities of keeping fish types, there were less choices in the pet store than there are now. One of the staple fish that is a mainstay for many people who seek brightly coloured, active fish, the many species of African Cichlids were just coming into the pet store in numbers great enough to be purchased on my student’s budget.
One of the first fish that became plentiful was the Mozambique Tilapia. This is a mouth brooder that is extremely adaptable and easy to keep. Although it is not a true African Cichlid as defined by fish species exclusively from one of the three African rift lakes, it is one of the cichlids where the female holds the eggs in her mouth until the fry are able to swim and feed on their own.
It grows quite large and has become a favoured food fish for many North American tables. Tilapia fillets are a common white freshwater fish that is grown economically and renewable. They are also so adaptable though that they have become labeled as invasive species, invading many freshwater bodies all over the world.
Mozambique Tilapia photo by Greg Hume
Adults reach approximately 35 centimetres (14 in) in length and up to 1.13 kilograms (2.5 lb). Size and coloration may vary in captive and naturalized populations due to environmental and breeding pressures. It lives for up to 11 years.
It is a remarkably robust and fecund fish, readily adapting to available food sources and breeding under suboptimal conditions. It also tolerates brackish water and survives temperatures below 50 °F (10 °C) and above 100 °F (38 °C).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique_tilapia
The term Tilapia covers a large variety of fish, they were originally African Cichlids but are so versatile they will live in almost any conditions. The potential they offer for home grown food is slowly being exploited in a number of ways. One of the most important is the inclusion as the fish of choice in an aquaponic system.
Could African Cichlids Feed the World?
New York’s Inner city youth are being given an education in aquaponics by Christopher Toole:
A pioneer in the latest urban farming craze – freshwater tilapia – he is leading a movement in the dilapidated South Bronx called “aquaponics”.
Aquaponics encourages people to grow fish in their high-rise bathrooms, in large rubbish bins or tanks. The next step is to raise the fish on a bigger scale in the city’s many community gardens, where their waste can be used to fertilise plants.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17861710
Tropical fish are often used in an ornamental setting. One of the fields of interest in this blog, as it evolves will be the benefits that keeping fish can offer, in all aspects. African cichlids, especially tilapia have the potential of bringing fish keeping to the next level, and providing valuable protein as a result.
Aquaponics is an ideal extension for keeping tropical fish tanks. It combines keeping fish, such as African Cichlids or even goldfish, and growing fresh organic vegetables with the wastes, without soil. Done right, it can be adapted into a small setting such as a home and even provide a decorative accent as well as a viable safe food source grown tight at home.
