ID: Tilapia that turned black! - Oreochromis mossambicus

[simontay78]

My Tilapia Turns Black!! COOOL

Anyone can ID this Tilapia actual name?
I will blog it later (is it Oreochromis niloticus?)

My friends and I caught these pale greyish Tilapia Japanese fish in Canals near Lavender MRT...

[hanna]

Alloz~!

If I am not mistaken, the males turn black when ready to mate. Males are generally more colourful while females are dull. How about them being banded tilapias? :P

[hanna]

Could you tell me how did you catch them from the longkang?

[simontay78]

It's simple, go get those cheap cheap $18.99 China Made Fishing Pole from your favorite fishing shop...I got mine cheap but poor quality ...haha.

Get a Tioman Hook that consist of 4-5 hooks joined together...must be the smallest...

Get normal swivel small ones and hook up the fishing line with the Tioman hook and use the white bread as bait...roll the small bread into a small ball tiny ones...and put on all the hooks...put a small "weight" similar to a bullet size...small one..at the end of the hook line...

No need floating stuff...

Throw some of crumbs of the side of the bread into the water to lure those fishes in...wait for a while...throw some more...if you see small molly fishes...the Tilapia is near by as well.

Cast your line into the middle of the canal if possible and feel the fishing pole...if you feel tiny bites...tug the line in small but quick up and release action.

If got hooked up a Tilapia hor...the line will move very fast if you tug up suddenly...when you release slightly you can feel it...the hooked fish.

practice more...and you will get like 1 fish per hour...even if you are beginner!!

The sea fishes are more violent...Tilapia is the weakest and easiest to catch.

If you intend to keep them for aquarium...remember to unhook carefully and put in a small fish tank with portable battery operated air pump..

Replenish the water with clean water ever hour so that the shit from the Tilapia won't dirty the tank too quickly...and have spike in ammonia haha..

Bring a pail...drill hold on the top side of the pail...tie a small weight bullet there and tie a long string (those plastic ones not rafia) and throw into the water and the pail will go sideways with the weight...and you can pull back the pail using the string...to get fresh longkang water to pour on your plastic fish tank..hehe

By few hours you may get 3-4 tilapia and a crowd of on lookers uncles and aunties...only blagadash may want to buy the fish from you...haha

one loave of bread can catch easily 5-9 tilapias...if you kiasu...do your own math and bring your bread according to your skills.

Long kang (canal) fish can eat...but you need to put them in a clean tank for at least 2 days...change water at least every few hours from feeding time...to detox clear stomach from long kang waste. If scare to lose out then...don't eat immediately...raise until big big then can Chinese New Year eat big steam tilapia meal!

[hanna]

*snip*

By few hours you may get 3-4 tilapia and a crowd of on lookers uncles and aunties...only blagadash may want to buy the fish from you...haha

one loave of bread can catch easily 5-9 tilapias...if you kiasu...do your own math and bring your bread according to your skills.

Long kang fish can eat...but you need to put them in a clean tank for at least 2 days...change water at least every few hours from feeding time...to detox clear stomach from long kang waste. If kia su...dun eat like me...raise until big big then can Chinese New Year makan big steam tilapia meal!

EAT the fish from longkang?! I don't dare... You mean the bangladeshi workers will buy and eat them?

But thanks for the information, sounds complicated to me despite it being basic. But I would like to try it some day as my nearby longkang has similar tilapias & I like the black ones. They have red/orange trimings. Nice~!

Thanks a bunch~!!

[Quixotic]

simontay78,

Thanks for your enthusiasm for sharing your fishy accounts.

However, could you please kindly edit your post and rephrase the SMS language references, e.g. 'u', 'dun'?

SMS language is strongly discouraged in AQ as they are very very very difficult to read. Otherwise, we may consider removing such posts from the forum.

Many thanks for the co-operation.

[simontay78]

So sorry! Haha...it's been amended to the best I can...to advice if still not legible.

Regards,
Simon Tay

simontay78,

Thanks for your enthusiasm for sharing your fishy accounts.

However, could you please kindly edit your post and rephrase the SMS language references, e.g. 'u', 'dun'?

SMS language is strongly discouraged in AQ as they are very very very difficult to read. Otherwise, we may consider removing such posts from the forum.

Many thanks for the co-operation.

[BillD]

My Tilapia Turns Black!! COOOL

Anyone can ID this Tilapia actual name?
I will blog it later (is it Oreochromis niloticus?)

My friends and I caught these pale greyish Tilapia Japanese fish in Canals near Lavender MRT...

It is not niloticus, but mozambicus. That is the first African cichlid I kept, back in the 60s. As mentioned, only the males get that black coloration.

[stormchild]

You might have your answer here. http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guideb...h/text/242.htm

I'm not too sure if they are hybrids though. There's a slight possibility.
Saw a large school of these with several flower horns amongst them in a man-made pond near my work place. Looked really colorful from above!

[fishking]

Oooh...the picture brings back memories to me. Kept this fish few years ago and it bred and bred and bred non stop. The fry will be sexually matured in about 6 months and I actually had the 2nd generation of this fish breeding in the same tank...this fish is very very hardy.

The male will dig up a pit in the sand or if you have an empty tank, then the male will start cleaning one portion of the tank floor and the female will lay eggs and incubate the eggs in its mouth for about 10 days. It is best to take out the male after the breeding as the male maybe aggressive to the female. Once the fry are free-swimming, the fry will swim around the female. Any danger approaching, the fry will all huddle into the female's mouth. It is a sight to behold and very very interesting to watch.

[apistomaster]

These were my first tropical fish I bred. That was in 1964, when I was only 13 years old. I thought back then they were the coolest fish I had ever kept.
The fish shown are not hybrids.
The dominant breeding males are very attractive and for a teenager, watching them spawn and then later, watching the female caring for her brood was very memorable.
They do grow quite large if given enough room. I used to feed mine earthworms 15 cm long but they will eat any food in large quantities.
After they bred so many times I had too many, which themselves would begin breeding at a fraction of their maximum size, I moved on to new species and so the journey into breeding fish, as my hobby began.

I forgot to add this. Instead of catching them in the wild, I actually made a twig fishing pole and fished for them in their aquarium. 13 year old kids can be easily be amused.

[fishking]

Oh yes...these fish are voracious eaters...they dont seem to be full...

1 bottle of dried food pellets can only last for 2 to 3 weeks if fed heavily for a tank of about 50 fishes...

[hanna]

oh gosh 1964..., 60s... how old are you guys?!

There are tons in the longkang near my house. In fact, I keep a black one & a few females... they don't seem like they want to mate. All they are interested in is EATING!!

Anyways, here is a pix of it. It has never turned all black though... not romantic enough? How to you get them to breed? I would like to see the fries swimming in and out of the mother's mouth!