FreshwaterBrackishSaltwater
Blackchin tilapia
Sarotherodon melanotheron
Cichlidae, Pseudocrenilabrinae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 28 cm
- Body shape
- Deep-bodied
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 527 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
Water values
Smallest tank
Range
NativeIntroduced
Lives wild in Benin, Cameroon, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, and 7 more countries.
Introduced to Cambodia, Philippines, Suriname, and United States.
More about the species
Description
This species can tolerate high salinity. It occurs abundantly in mangrove areas and ventures in to both fresh, like lower reaches of streams and salt waters in native and non-native ranges. In West Africa, this species is confined to brackish lagoons and estuaries, and is abundant in the mangrove zone. Forms schools; is mainly nocturnal with intermittent daytime feeding. Feeds on aufwuchs and detritus, as well as on bivalves and zooplankton. Feeding behaviour: picking up and swallowing "bites" (no gill rakers).
Other names
Other scientific names
- Chromis heudelotii
- Chromis macrocephalus
- Chromis microcephalus
- Chromis niloticus
- Melanogenes macrocephalus
- Melanogenes microcephalus
In other languages
- Vestafrikansk mundruger
- Mustaleukatilapia
- African sunfish, Blackchin mouthbrooder, Cichlid, Mango fish, Silvery tilapia, Tilapia
Articles
All articles
How to set up an African aquarium5 min read
Two completely different aquariums: forest rivers with soft, brown water, roots and leaves, and Rift Valley lake cichlids in hard, alkaline water with big rock piles.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.
Ich (white spot)4 min read
The most common disease in aquarium fish. How to recognize it, why it shows up, and how to get rid of it.