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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: blackchin tilapia
Synonyms and Other Names: blackchin mouthbrooder
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Names or synonyms for this species used in earlier publications on introduced fish and in aquarium literature include Tilapia melanotheron, Tilapia heudeloti, and T. macrocephala. Distinguishing characteristics and illustrations were given by Trewavas (1983a) and by Page and Burr (1991). Photographs were provided by Axelrod (1993).
Size: 26 cm.
Native Range:
Tropical Africa. Brackish estuaries and lagoons from Senegal to Zaire (Trewavas 1983a).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: The first documented occurrence of this species in Florida was a specimen gillnetted by commercial fishermen in Hillsborough Bay near Tampa, Hillsborough County, in 1959 (Springer and Finucane 1963). Additional records for the western part of the state indicate that this species is established in brackish and freshwaters in eastern Tampa Bay and in adjoining drainages in Hillsborough County, ranging from the Alafia River south to Cockroach Bay. The species has been recorded from the Alafia River from its mouth up to Lithia Springs; from the Hillsborough River, Bullfrog Creek, the Palm River, and the Little Manatee River; and from various western drainage and irrigation ditches (Springer and Finucane 1963; Finucane and Rinckey 1967; Buntz and Manooch 1969; Lachner et al. 1970; Courtenay et al. 1974; Courtenay and Hensley 1979a; Courtenay and Kohler 1986; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Courtenay and Stauffer 1990; DNR collections; UF museum specimens). There are two records of this species from the west side of Tampa Bay, in Pinellas County: a collection from Lake Maggiore in St. Petersburg, taken in October 1989 (UF museum specimens); and several fish taken from Mud Hole Island, in Weldon Island State Park, in December 1989 (identification based on a photograph of specimens, D. Jennings, personal communication). The species has been established in ditches and saline waters of the Banana and Indian River lagoon system along the eastern side of Florida since or shortly before about 1980 (Dial and Wainright 1983; Gilmore et al. 1983; Courtenay 1989; Snodgrass 1991; Courtenay and Stauffer 1990; Jennings and Williams 1992; Courtenay, personal communication; UF museum specimens). Jennings and Williams (1992) reported that its distribution in eastern Florida had increased significantly since initial introduction, ranging from Vero Beach, Indian River County, north to Whites Point, Brevard County. This species was reported from the Indian River lagoon south of Edgewater, Volusia County, in 1985 (C. Goodrich, personal communication), but there are no known voucher specimens and the report should be considered unconfirmed. The only record of this species in south Florida is that of five specimens taken from the upper Rio Vista Canal, at the Westview Country Club in Dade County, in November 1983 (USGS file record), but the voucher specimens have not been located and this record also should be considered unconfirmed. This species is abundant in brackish-water lagoons in Hawaii, including Pearl Harbor and several coastal marine environments (Randall 1987; Bishop Museum 2000). It has been established and is abundant in Wahiawa Reservoir (= Lake Wilson), a privately owned irrigation reservoir on Oahu, since the mid-1970s; it has been common in other Oahu reservoirs since the late 1970s, and also is found in many lower streams and estuaries and around local coral reefs (Maciolek 1984; Devick 1991a, 1991b).
Means of Introduction: The probable source of Florida fish was Tampa area fish farms, although release of aquarium fish cannot be ruled out (Springer and Finucane 1963). In the eastern part of Florida, this species apparently was introduced or spread by local anglers to create a commercial fishery (Dial and Wainright 1983). Blackchin tilapia were imported into Hawaii in 1962 by the Federal Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (now the National Marine Fisheries Service); coastal and lagoon introductions were the result of escapes from a fish station on Oahu, where the species was being tested as a baitfish for tuna, in or about 1965 (Randall 1987; Devick 1991b). The fish was introduced accidentally into Wahiawa Reservoir, Hawaii, in the mid-1970s; these reservoir introductions probably resulted from bait bucket releases (Devick 1991a, 1991b).
Status: Established in Florida and Hawaii. Evidence indicates it is spreading rapidly in both fresh and salt water around island of Oahu, Hawaii (Devick 1991b).
Impact of Introduction: In Lithia Springs, Florida, S. melanotheron made up about 90 percent of the total fish biomass (Courtenay et al. 1974). An estimated 20,000 tilapia, most of them S. melanotheron, were killed in Wahiawa Reservoir, Hawaii, by fungal infections in early 1991; populations of this tilapia appear to be serving as a reservoir for fungal disease and may be responsible for spreading infection to other fish species (Devick 1991a). Devick estimated that the 20,000 dead tilapia represented only about 0.05 percent or less of the total tilapia population in the reservoir.
Remarks:
At one time, the species was very popular in the aquarium fish trade (Goldstein 1973). It is very tolerant of high salinities (Dial and Wainright 1983). This species has replaced Oreochromis macrochir as the second most abundant tilapia (after O. mossambicus?) in many Hawaiian reservoirs (Devick 1991b). Distribution maps for the species have been provided for all or parts of Florida by Courtenay et al. (1974), Lee et al. (1980 et seq.), Dial and Wainright (1983), Jennings (1991), and Jennings and Williams (1992).
Voucher specimens: Florida (USNM 179008, 179009, UF 30876, 84981, 86324, 91156, 91834, 91844, many others).
Axelrod, H. R. 1993. The most complete colored lexicon of cichlids. Tropical Fish Hobbyist Publications, Inc., Neptune City, NJ.
Bishop Museum. 2000. Pearl Harbor Legacy Project. Available URL at http://www.bishop.hawaii.org/bishop/invert/phlegacy.html.
Buntz, J., and C. S. Manooch. 1969. Tilapia aurea (Steindachner), a rapidly spreading exotic in south central Florida. Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners 22:495-501.
Courtenay, W. - Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Fl.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr. 1989. Exotic fishes in the National Park System. Pages 237-252 in L. K. Thomas, editor. Proceedings of the 1986 conference on science in the national parks, volume 5. Management of exotic species in natural communities. U.S. National Park Service and George Wright Society, Washington, DC.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr., and D. A. Hensley. 1979a. Survey of introduced non-native fishes. Phase I Report. Introduced exotic fishes in North America: status 1979. Report Submitted to National Fishery Research Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gainesville, FL.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr., and C. C. Kohler. 1986. Exotic fishes in North American fisheries management. Pages 401-413 in R. H. Stroud, editor. Fish culture in fisheries management. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr., and J. R. Stauffer, Jr.. 1990. The introduced fish problem and the aquarium fish industry. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 21(3):145-159.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr., H. F. Sahlman, W. W. Miley, II, and D. J. Herrema. 1974. Exotic fishes in fresh and brackish waters of Florida. Biological Conservation 6(4):292-302.
Devick, W. S. 1991a. Disturbances and fluctuations in the Wahiawa Reservoir ecosystem. Project F-14-R-15, Job 4, Study I. Division of Aquatic Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. 21 pp.
Devick, W. S. 1991b. Patterns of introductions of aquatic organisms to Hawaiian freshwater habitats. Pages 189-213 in new directions in research, management and conservation of Hawaiian freshwater stream ecosystems. Proceedings of the 1990 symposium on freshwater stream biology and fisheries management, Division of Aquatic Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Dial R. S., and S. C. Wainright. 1983a. New distributional records for non-native fishes in Florida. Florida Scientist 46(1):1-8.
Dial, R. S., and S. C. Wainright. 1983b. New distributional records for non-native fishes in Florida. Florida Scientist 46(1):8-15.
Finucane, J. H., and G. R. Rinckey. 1967. A study of the African cichlid, Tilapia heudeloti Dumeril, in Tampa Bay, Florida. Proceedings of the 18th annual Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners 18(1964):259-269.
Gilmore, R. G., P. A. Hastings, and D. J. Herrema. 1983. Ichthyofaunal additions to the Indian River Lagoon and adjacent waters east-central Florida. Florida Scientist 46:22-30.
Goldstein, R. J. 1973. Cichlids of the world. Tropical Fish Hobbyist Publications, Inc., Neptune City, NJ.
Goodrich, C. - Goodrich and Son Seafood, Oakhill, Florida. Conversation with Dawn Jennings 1985.
Jennings, D. - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gainesville, FL (formerly).
Jennings, D.P., and J. D. Williams. 1992. Factors influencing the distribution of blackchin tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron (Osteichthys: Cichlidae) in the Indian River system, Florida. Northeast Gulf Science 12(2):111-117.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980 et seq. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, NC.
Maciolek, J. A. 1984. Exotic fishes in Hawaii and other islands of Oceania. Pages 131-161 in W. R. Courtenay, Jr., and J. R. Stauffer, Jr., editors. Distribution, biology, and management of exotic fishes. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Randall, J. E. 1987. Introductions of marine fishes to the Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of Marine Science 41(2):490-502.
Springer, V. G., and J. H. Finucane. 1963. The African cichlid, Tilapia heudeloti Dumeril, in the commerical fish catch of Florida. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 92(3):317-318.
Trewavas, E. 1983a. Tialpine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
Other Resources:
Gulf of Mexico Program
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Leo Nico
Revision Date: 4/21/2006 Citation for this information:
Leo Nico. 2009. Sarotherodon melanotheron. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=477> Revision Date: 4/21/2006
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