Redbreast Tilapia

Fascinating facts about the Redbreast Tilapia

• The redbreast tilapia can survive temperatures up to 41 °C and water with up to 1.9 % salt, and it prefers still waters, river banks and swampy oxbows across southern Africa.
• A single specimen can reach up to 45 cm in length and weigh up to 2.5 kg, with a body height of 42.2-49.4 % of its length, giving it a stout, high-backed shape.
• It is found from the upper Congo and Kasai rivers to the coastal reaches of KwaZulu-Natal, and also populates Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, the Zambezi, Limpopo, Okavango and Cunene basins.
• Look closely at its feeding gear: seven to ten gill-raker streams sit on the lower branch of the first gill arch, while a lower pharyngeal jaw is as wide as it is long. These adaptations let the fish filter plankton as juveniles and later scrape algae, insects and crustaceans, illustrating a versatile diet that supports both growth and reproduction.
• First described in 1897 by George Albert Boulenger as *Chromis rendalli*, the fish was later re-classified into the genus *Coptodon* when that subgenus was elevated in 2013. The specific name honors collector Percy Rendall, linking the species to early 20th-century exploration and showing how taxonomy tracks scientific discovery over time.

At a glance

About the Redbreast Tilapia

The redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli) strikes the eye with its high-backed, sideways-oblate form, reaching up to 45 cm and 2.5 kg. Its olive-green dorsal surface fades to paler sides, while the breast and belly often blush a subtle red, a hallmark of the genus. A striking dorsal fin bears a red rim and speckled soft rays, and its fin formula (dorsal XIV–XVII/10–13, anal III/9–10) and scale count (28–32 along the lateral line) speak to its cichlid lineage. Beneath the convex head lies a mouth packed with short, thick, two-pointed teeth and a lower pharyngeal jaw as wide as it is long, adaptations that aid in crushing plant material and tiny prey. In the southern half of Africa, C. rendalli inhabits freshwater lakes, marshes, river banks, oxbow lakes and swamps, favouring densely vegetated, still waters with a gentle current. It tolerates a broad temperature range (8 – 41 °C) and even brackish conditions up to 1.9 % salinity. Juveniles drift on plankton, while adults, like all Coptodon, graze on algae, taller aquatic plants, insects and small crustaceans. A surprising trait is its ability to thrive in both pristine wetlands and man-made reservoirs, where it has become an established edible fish across several African nations, underscoring its ecological flexibility and the subtle balance between wild and cultivated habitats.

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