About the Fish

Any baked, grilled, fried, smoked, steamed, stewed, stuffed, glazed, broiled or what have you recipe there is, it ain't a Tilapia Fish Recipes if it has no Tilapia in it.

Now let's get to know our fish.

Tilapia were originally found in Africa but today can be found to inhabit different fresh water habitats like streams, ponds, rivers and lakes around the world. They are tropical fish and can only stand temperatures above 55*F.

Some interesting and trivial facts about the fish that they rear their young on their mouths until they have grown enough to fend for themselves, The tilapia also, at some time, were released into the Kenyan waters to feed on mosquito larva to address malaria epidemic. They also played a role in the World War II as prime protein source for the poor. And one of it’s species, the Nile Tilapia also known as St. Peter Fish is also speculated to be the fish Jesus multiplied and fed to the masses at the Sermon on the Mount as the fish is native to the sea of Galilee.

Their appetite, quick growth and breeding, characteristics made the Tilapia the third only to carps and salmonids in the importance in aquaculture.

Tilapia farming has been around a couple and hal thousand years and it is said that farming the fist started in Israel. In 2002 tilapia production went up to 1,505,804 tons and today Taiwan is the largest exporter of Tilapia and the US and Japan being the largest consumers.

The comercial culture of tilapia is almost exclusive these 3 species:

Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica)
Of the three tilapia species that has the potential for aquaculture, the Nile Tilapia is the most comonly used species in tilapia in fish farming.



Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aurea)
More at home in salty waters and lower temperatures, the blue tilapia is the next most cultured tilapia specie.



Black Tilapia or Java tilapia. (Oreochromis mossambica)
Very much like the Blue Tilapia in their spawning age and toleracen in salty water, their males grow faster than the other two mentions species.