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Daily Bucket: Tilapia Fish Nesting [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-09
The Daily Bucket is a regular series from the Backyard Science group. Here we talk about Mother Nature in all her glory, especially the parts that live nearby. So let us know (as close as you are comfortable) where you are and what's going on around you. What's the weather like? Seen any interesting plants, bugs or critters? Are there birds at your feeders? Deer, foxes or snakies in your yard? Seen any cool rocks or geological features? Post your observations and notes here. And photos. We like photos. :)
There are several different non-native species of Tilapia established in the US, including the Spotted Tilapia, the Blue Tilapia, the Nile Tilapia, the Redbelly Tilapia, and the Mozambique Tilapia. These freely interbreed and hybridize. For the most part, the Blue Tilapia is the most cold-tolerant and the most widespread, found throughout Florida and across the southern US, sometimes extending as far north as Pennsylvania.
The Blue Tilapia is most conspicuous during the spring breeding season, when the males excavate a large shallow dish-shaped depression in the mud along shallow lake shores. Although these bowl-nests are crowded close together, each male viciously defends his nest against all the others. After attracting a female, the pair will mate and produce thousands of eggs--but these are not laid in the male's nest. Instead, the female takes the fertilized eggs into her mouth and swims away into shallow water. In a strategy known as "mouth-brooding", she will protect the eggs in her mouth until they hatch, with the tiny baby fishes also dashing into Mommy's mouth whenever they need protection. After about a month, the young fish are big enough to wander off on their own.
Some photos from a recent walk in the Largo Central Park Game Preserve in Pinellas County FL.
A male in his arena
Baby Tilapia
Mom guards the youngsters
A dispute between neighbors. These are two males defending their nest from each other.
If danger appears, all the little fishies will scurry into the protection of Mom’s mouth
And now it is your turn: what’s nesting in your neck of the woods?
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