Oreochromis aureus

WelfareScore | farm

Li1  ❘  Po2  ❘  Ce0

Likelihood

Potential

Certainty

Oreochromis aureus is a freshwater and tropical fish that naturally inhabits warm ponds and impoundments as well as lakes and streams of Africa and Eurasia. It is found both in open waters and among stones and vegetation, being tolerant to very brackish waters and one of the most cold-tolerant tilapia species, occurring at temperatures ranging from 8 to 30 °C. O. aureus is a filter-feeding fish, but also feeds on aquatic vegetation, invertebrates, and even FISHES, thus being an opportunistic feeder. This tilapia is already introduced around the world as a food source, for vegetation control, and as a game fish. Despite that, there are reports about adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Aiming to avoid natural spawning and because males grow better than females, manual sexing, hybridisation with O. niloticus and hormonal sex reversal have been used to produce monosex-male populations in farms. Important wild information about home range, depth range, migration distances, and aggregation densities is still missing from the literature for this species. Moreover, further research about farming conditions related to aggression, stress responses, malformations, and substrate availability is needed for a better welfare assesment for farmed O. aureus. Additionally, farming information about home range, depth range, and aggregation conditions for the early life stages is still missing as well.

For details see: WelfareCheck | farm (latest major release: 2024-10-09)