A manual for Nile tilapia seed production and grow-out aquaculture

Abstract

Tilapia is a highly versatile fish that is farmed worldwide. Widely known as the “aquatic chicken,” it has the potential to contribute to the food security needs of a rapidly increasing global population. As a group, tilapia species play a great role in tropical aquaculture, with Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), in particular, holding great economic promise to provide food and nutritional security and create rural employment. As tilapia farming has expanded worldwide, the demand for seed to stock in production ponds has also increased, and the fish continues to be introduced into many regions outside its natural habitats. Various aquaculture interventions have modified the life cycle of Nile tilapia extensively. Manipulating spawning, breeding and stocking density, feeding with formulated feeds, altering gender to produce monosex (allmale) stocks, aerating the water to supply dissolved oxygen (DO), and providing protection from predators are all interventions done to intensify tilapia production worldwide.