Get to know the characteristics and characteristics of tilapia fish and the benefits of consuming tilapia fish

jayakarta
8 min readJan 26, 2024

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Characteristics and characteristics of tilapia fish — Tilapia fish, which has the scientific name Oreochromis niloticus, is a fish that was known in 1969 from eastern African countries. Tilapia fish were first recorded as coming to Indonesia in 1969.

Tilapia is also known to be a relative of the tilapia fish or Oreochromis mossambicus , which both have the potential to become invasive fish if released into natural water bodies.

Tilapia fish also have a high ability to survive and adapt and also have a tolerance for water quality over a wide range, although in extreme conditions tilapia fish can survive well compared to fish that live in fresh water which are known to have no survival. that tilapia has.

Features and Characteristics of Tilapia
1. Omnivore
Tilapia is a type of fish that can eat anything in its environment, most tilapia fish often eat moss or weeds.

2. Breeds Easily
Tilapia fish themselves can lay eggs in large numbers, even up to 1,500 fish eggs each time they lay eggs.

3. Relatively has a grayish black color
The tilapia fish population tends to have a grayish black body color, and juvenile tilapia fish have stripes all over their bodies in a transverse position and as they grow the stripes on their bodies will disappear.

4. There is Suri on the Body
Tilapia fish have spines on their body, fins and tail, which are used to survive attacks from predators in the tilapia’s habitat.

5. Medium sized body shape
Tilapia has a body shape with a medium size of around 30 cm from head to tail. However, various types of tilapia fish continue to develop over time. It is known that there are also types of tilapia fish that have a small body shape and the body of tilapia fish can also be small when food needs in their environment are limited.

6. Flat body shape
Tilapia tend to have a flat body shape that extends to the sides.

7. Eyes Stand Out
Tilapia fish have a visual body with protruding eyes, where you will see a white circle at the edge of the tilapia fish’s eyes.

8. There is a side dish of fish
Tilapia fish also have lines on the sides of the tilapia called “Linea Lateralis” which function to provide balance to the tilapia’s body when swimming.

9. Has quite large scales
Tilapia fish have scales that are quite large and slimy, where this mucus has the function of escaping the grip of predators in the tilapia habitat.

1O. Is a Cold Blooded Animal
Tilapia fish is one of a group of cold-blooded animals called poikilotherms, which allows tilapia fish to adjust their body temperature when they are moved to their environment. Tilapia fish can adapt to both hot and cold environments.

1. Ikan Nila Anjani

Anjani tilapia is a fish that is cultivated by BPBIAT (Freshwater Fish Seed Development Center), where most of the anjani type of tilapia is cultivated in Eastern Indonesia, one example is in the NTB (West Nusa Tenggara) area.

The Anjani type of tilapia has several advantages as follows:

Anjani tilapia has a faster growth time so it can speed up harvest.
Anjani tilapia has a body that is immune to bacteria, which can even cause a deadly disease in a type of tilapia called Streptococcus.
Anjani tilapia fish has a thicker texture which makes the price of this Anjani tilapia fish have a higher value.
2. Blue Gift Fish (Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia)

The gift tilapia fish ( Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia ), which first appeared in Indonesia in 1994, then was imported again in 1997, is a tilapia fish that has two varieties. This type of Gift tilapia is the result of crossing 8 varieties of tilapia from 8 countries.

This type of tilapia has several advantages, namely:

Gift tilapia has a strong immune system so it can withstand disease viruses compared to local tilapia.
Gift tilapia fish have a tolerance for high salinity levels in their bodies, where the higher the salinity the salt content in them is also higher.
Gift tilapia fish have a productive period of 1.5 years to 2 years.
Gift tilapia has a faster growth time, namely when it reaches 5 to 6 months of age, so it can speed up harvest.
3. Nial Nifi Fish

Nifi tilapia ( National Inland Fish Institute ) or another name for nira tilapia is tilapia which is the result of a cross between foreign female tilapia and local male tilapia.

This Nifi tilapia has a smaller body shape and has a beautiful color, a mixture of body colors and usually the color of the Nifi tilapia is reddish, whitish and also yellowish. Nifi tilapia also usually produces more male fish seeds.

The advantages of nifi tilapia fish are:

Nifi tilapia fish are usually widely chosen because they can be kept in aquariums or used for cultivation.
Nifi tilapia also contains vitamins in its body which provide many benefits for consumption.
4. Ikan Nila Gesit

This fish is a tilapia fish resulting from the development of the gift type of tilapia fish in the third generation. This agile type of fish is chosen by many Indonesian countries when cultivating tilapia.

The advantages of nimble tilapia fish are:

Nimble tilapia that are mated with other Nimble varieties tend to produce male rather than female eggs.
Nimble tilapia has a 98 percent success rate.
Nile tilapia can also produce fish that have superior quality and have a fast time to grow.
The nimble tilapia has a body weight of 600 grams and a body length of more than 8 cm in a period of 6 months.
5. They Fish Locally

This fish is a tilapia fish found in Indonesian waters without any crossbreeding or development from cultivation. Initially this fish was imported from Taiwan but has become endemic to Indonesia because it is the most common tilapia fish found on the market. Local tilapia fish have a grayish black color and a bright white belly color on the body of local tilapia fish.

6. Nirvana Tilapia

This fish is tilapia which was imported to Indonesia in 1989 from Thailand. This Nirvana tilapia fish is characterized by its reddish body color.

The advantage of Nirvana tilapia fish is that in just six months it can produce 650 grams per fish.

7. Nila Nirwana II (Nila Ras Wanayasa)

This fish is a tilapia fish resulting from development in the city of Purwakarta, West Java, which was developed by the Wanayasa Fish Seed Development Center

The advantages of Nirvana II tilapia fish are:

Nirwana II tilapia has 15% faster growth or within a period of six months can produce up to 1 kilogram of weight compared to the Nirwana I type.
Nirwana II tilapia has a wider body shape and kepa which is shorter and has a thick meat structure.
8. Nirvana Tilapia III

This is a tilapia fish that was first introduced to the public in 2006 and is the result of crossing gift and agile types of tilapia. This tilapia belongs to the Wanayasa race.

The advantages of tilapia nirwana III are:

Nirwana III tilapia can grow 30% faster than Nirwana II tilapia.
The Nirvana III tilapia is harvested in just 2 months and has a percentage of 80% juveniles.
Nirvana III tilapia scored an FCR ( Food Conversion Ratio ) of 1.4 which can inhibit its feed.
9. Larasati Tilapia

It is a tilapia fish that was developed in the Klaten area, Central Java and is the result of mating a male Pandu tilapia with a female Kunti tilapia. This Larasati type of tilapia was first introduced in 2009.

The advantages of this tilapia are:

Larasati tilapia has a survival rate of up to 90% and grows faster than other tilapia.
Larasati tilapia is also considered to have a lower FCR or food conversion ratio when compared to local tilapia.
10. Ikan Nila Anjani

This fish is a tilapia fish that comes from NTB (West Nusa Tenggara). The name Anjani stands for Mainstay of the Indonesian Tilapia Network. This Anjani tilapia can gain a daily growth of around 1.2 grams per hair.

The advantages of this tilapia fish are:

Anjani tilapia can produce a harvest weighing 128.2 grams per fish within 100 days.
Anjani tilapia also has a thicker meat texture
11. Fish They Taste

The name of this tilapia fish is taken from the abbreviation of the name Satria tilapia. This fish is the result of a cross between Citralada tilapia which is a tilapia fish from the Philippines and Singapore. Nifi tilapia fish breeding is carried out by BPTKP (Yogyakarta Regional Marine and Fisheries Technology Development Center).

The advantages of this tilapia are:

Nilasa tilapia is a fish that is easy to grow.
Nilasa tilapia fish can adapt or have a high tolerance for new environments or even extreme environments.
Nilasa tilapia fish can produce a large number of eggs and fall into the high hatchability category.
12. Ikan Nila GET (Genetically Enhanced of Tilapia)
Characteristics and Characteristics of Tilapia

This GET ( Genetically Enhanced of Tilapia ) tilapia has similarities with Gift tilapia, both of which are fish brought from the Philippines and in the 2000s to Indonesia.

Tilapia Classification
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrates
Kelas : Actinopterygii
Ordo: Perciformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Oreochromis
Species: Oreochromis niloticus
Differences between Male and Female Tilapia
Male tilapia fish have a blackish and reddish chin and reddish brown pectoral fins. Male tilapia fish have pointed genitals and when massaged can produce a thick white fluid. This fish also has two holes (annus, urogenital) or excretes urine and sperm.

Female tilapia fish have a whitish chin and blackish pectoral fins. The shape of the female tilapia’s genitals is like a crescent moon which, when massaged, can release eggs. Female tilapia fish have three holes (anus, genital/egg, and urine hole).

Tilapia Fish Breeding Time
Tilapia harvest time ranges from 2 to 7 months and tends to be in the fourth month after spreading the seeds. Harvest time can also affect the environmental location where tilapia breed.

It takes persistence in determining the time and weight of the tilapia fish, which needs to be measured randomly every two weeks, in order to know the feed requirements and weight of the tilapia fish.

Functions and Benefits of Tilapia
Tilapia has functions and benefits for human consumption, therefore many breeders make tilapia one of the fish chosen for cultivation. Here are 6 functions and benefits of consuming tilapia fish.

1. Good for digestion
Tilapia fish contains protein in its body which can provide good benefits such as digestive health for those who consume it. Tilapia also provides nutritional content that can help heal damaged body tissues and maintain balance in the body.

2. Prevents Premature Aging
Tilapia fish contains selenium in its body, where the selenium content can stimulate vitamin E and vitamin C which are good for skin health and can prevent premature aging of the body.

The antioxidants in the body of tilapia fish can help prevent damage to body cells which usually occurs when the body is exposed to excessive free radicals and can cause signs of aging (wrinkles, the appearance of black spots, and sagging skin).

3. Maintain Cholesterol
Tilapia contains nutritional omega 3 fatty acids which can help prevent cholesterol levels in the body, as well as nutritional omega 3 fatty acids which are also good for muscles in responding to the insulin hormone.

4. Keeps Bones Healthier
Tilapia contains calcium which is good for maintaining bone health, has an important role in processing blood clotting and also muscle health, including the heart muscle.

5. Maintains brain health
Tilapia also contains fatty acids and potassium in its body which can help maintain healthy brain tissue and improve brain function and nerve tissue in the human body.

6. Prevents Cancer
Tilapia contains selenium, antioxidants and nutrients in it which can prevent damage to cancer cells and also prevent the triggering of cancer cells in the body.

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