The tilapia is grayish black and have light vertical lines going down its body. Their belly is a very light color and their body shape looks like a football. The adult tilapia is 4-6 inches long. They have pointy dorsal fin with their ventral and anal fin at the bottom. Their back fin is called a caudal fin. These fish also have a lateral line that runs horizontal in the middle if its body. Tilapia are fishes that are often seen in polluted water or streams. When the water is polluted or low in oxygen, they can breathe air by gulping it at the waters surface. These hardy fishes were brought to Hawai'i as a commercial game fish. They are native to Africa and are being reared in Africa, Europe and throughout the Pacific.

	Habitat Tilapia grows in freshwater and is native to Africa and the Middle East. The tilapia produce maximally at 85 degrees fahrenheit with a lower lethal temperature of 53 degrees fahrenheit. Tilapia's three most common species are cultivated and cultured only where warm water is naturally available. Tilapia can also be found in brackish water.

Life Cycle The male tilapia builds a nest at the bottom of the pond and courts the female who lays the eggs in the nest. The males fertilize the eggs. The female immediately puts the eggs in her mouth, 100-500 fry, depending on the size of the fishes mouth. The eggs hatch in about 5 days, but stay in to absorb the yolk sac. The babies swim out of the mouth to get food and at any sign of danger, they swim back into the female's mouth. When the babies get too big for the female's mouth, they become independent. The female returns to the nest after 4 weeks to lay more eggs.

Diet Tilapia are herbivores, which means they eat plants. They were first introduced to Hawai'i to help control the weeds and algae in freshwater canals and streams. Tilapias eat cod and bass. They have no enemies except people who catch them to eat.