Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambica (Peters 1852)


Other Names: Mouth-brooder, Mozambique Cichlid

Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambica, in rocky Pool, Gascoyne River, Western Australia. Source: Bill & Mark Bell / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
An very hardy introduced noxious cichlid. Tilapia are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures, salinities and dissolved oxygen levels - and are one of the most widespread feral fish in Australia. 

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Oreochromis mossambica in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/203

Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambica (Peters 1852)

More Info


Distribution

Introduced to reservoirs, farm dams, and natural waters in Australia. Known from Geraldton, the Gascoyne River and Lyons River, Western Australia, and from Cairns to the Gold Coast, Queensland, and Cudgen Lake near Cabarita, Northern new South Wales. Tilapia were also found in the cooling lake at the Hazelwood Power Station, Victoria - until the station was closed and the water was no longer heated. 

Species Citation

Chromis mossambicus Peters 1852, Bericht der Königlisch Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1852: 681. Type locality: Zambesi River, Mozambique.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2025

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambica (Peters 1852)

References


Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Neptune, New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 240 pp., 63 pls.

Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.

Arthington, A.H. & Blühdorn, D.R. 1994. Distribution, genetics, ecology and status of the introduced cichlid, Oreochromis mossambicus in Australia. in Dudgeon, D. & Lam, P. (eds). Inland waters of Tropical Asia and Australia: Conservation and management. Mitteilungen (Communications), Societas Internationalis Limnologiae (SIL), vol. 24. pp. 53-62

Arthington, A. & Cadwallader, P. 1996. Cichlids - Cichlidae. pp. 176-180 in McDowall, R.M. (ed.) Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : Reed Books 247 pp.

Arthington, A.H., McKay, R.J., Russell, D.J. & Milton, D.A. 1984. Occurrence of the introduced cichlid Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) in Queensland. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 35(2): 267-272

Arthington, A.H. & Milton, D.A. 1986. Reproductive biology, growth and age composition of the introduced Oreochromis mossambicus (Cichlidae) in two reservoirs, Brisbane, Australia. Environmental Biology of Fishes 16: 257–266

Burrows, D.W. 2009. Distribution of exotic freshwater fishes in the Wet Tropics region, northern Queensland, Australia. Report 09/19. Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, Townsville. pp. 1-27.

Canonico, G.C., Arthington, A., McCrary, J.K. & Thieme, M.L. 2005. The effects of introduced tilapias on native biodiversity. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 15: 463–483  

Carpenter, K.E. 2001. Cichlidae, in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

Corfield, J., Diggles, B., Jubb, C., McDowall, R.M., et al. 2008. Review of the impacts of introduced ornamental fish species that have established wild populations in Australia. Prepared for the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 277 pp.

Doupé, R.G., Knott, M.J., Schaffer, J. & Burrows, J.A. 2009. Investigational piscivory of some juvenile Australian freshwater fishes by the introduced Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus. Journal of Fish Biology 74: 2386–2400  

Doupé, R.G., Schaffer, J., Knott, M.J. & Burrows, D. 2009. How might an exotic fish disrupt success in a sympatric native species? Marine and Freshwater Research 60: 379–383  

Doupé, R.G. & Burrows, D.W, 2008. Thirty years later, should we be more concerned for the ongoing invasion of Mozambique tilapia in Australia? Pacific Conservation Biology 14: 235–238

Harris, J.H. 2013. 11. Fishes from elsewhere. pp. 259-282 in Humphries, P. & Walker, K. (eds). Ecology of Australian Freshwater Fishes. Collingwood, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 423 pp.

Hutchison, M., Sarac, Z. & Norris, A. 2011. Mozambique Tilapia, the Potential for Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) to invade the Murray-Darling Basin and the likely impacts: a review of existing information. MDBA publication number 153/11. Canberra, Australia : Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Commonwealth of Australia, 64 pp.

Kroon, F., Phillips, D., Burrows, D. & Hogan, A. 2015. Presence and absence of non-native fish species in the Wet Tropics region, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology 86(3): 1177-1185

Lever C. 1996. Naturalized Fishes of the World. Academic Press, San Diego.
Arthington AH & Bluhdorn DR. 1994. Distribution, genetics, ecology and status of the introduced cichlid, Oreochromis mossambicus, in Australia. Internationale Vereinigung fur theoretische und angewandte Limnologie/Communications 24: 53-62.

Lintermans, M. 2004. Human-assisted dispersal of alien freshwater fish in Australia. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38(3): 481-501  

Merrick, J.R. & Schmida, G.E. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology and Management. Sydney : J.R. Merrick 409 pp. figs 280 col. figs.  

Morgan, D.L., Gill, H.S., Maddern, M.G. & Beatty, S.J. 2004. Distribution and impacts of introduced freshwater fishes in Western Australia. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 511-523

Ovenden, J.R., Macbeth, M.G., Pope, L.C., Thuesen, P., Street, R. & Broderick, D. (2015) Translocation between freshwater catchments has facilitated the spread of tilapia in eastern Australia. Biological Invasions 17(2): 637-650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0754-6

Peters, W.C.H. 1852. Diagnosen von neue Flussfischen aus Mossambique. Bericht der Königlisch Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1852: 275-276, 681-685 See ref at BHL

Russell, D.J., Ryan, T.J., McDougall, A.J., Kistle, S.E. & Aland, G. 2003. Species diversity and spatial variation in fish assemblage structure of streams in connected tropical catchments in northern Australia with reference to the occurrence of translocated and exotic species. Marine and Freshwater Research 54: 813–824  

Russell, D.J., Thuesen, P.A. & Thomson, F.E. 2011. Development of management strategies for the control and eradication of feral Tilapia populations in Australia. PestSmart Toolkit publication, Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra.

Sunarto, A., Grimm, J., McColl, K., Ariel, E., et al. 2022. Bioprospecting for biocontrol agents for invasive tilapia in Australia. Biological Control 174: (105020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.105020

Sunarto, A., Hardaker, T., Hick, P., Grimm, J., et al. 2023. Tilapia Biocontrol Prospecting and Evaluation, Stage 1: Final Report for Project P01-B-003. Report for the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, 177 pp, available at invasives.com.au.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37371001

Fishing:Aquacultured around world

Max Size:36 cm (Australia)

Native:Invasive pest species

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