Common names:
Redbreast tilapia, Blue Tilapia, Redbreasted Bream
None

Taxonomic tree
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
Order: Cichliformes (Cichlids)
Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids)
Genus: Coptodon
Species: Coptodon rendalli (Boulenger, 1897)
Number of Occurrancies: 2

Etymology(based on Scharpf & Lazara, 2018)

• Coptodon: copto-, split or divided; odon, tooth, presumably referring to bifid maxillary teeth of C. zillii.


• rendalli: in honor of zoologist Percy Rendall (1861-1948), who collected type

Synonyms: click here to view synonyms on FishBase

Type locality: Upper Shiré River, Central Africa. Lectotype at British Museum of Natural History (BMNH) 

General identification features for tilapiine cichlids

• A single nostril on each side of the head; dorsal fin with contineous spinous and soft-rayed parts; lateral line interrupted(with anterior superior part and posterior inferior part)


• Cycloid scales


• Tilapia mark (dark spot at the posterior end of the dorsal fin) in juveniles

Distinguishing characters for the genus

• Fewer gillrakers (usually 10-17) on the first gill arch


• 23–29 scales in the longitudinal row; the scales are small near base


• Upper and lower outer teeth rows bicuspid in both jaws, inner rows with smaller tricuspid teeth in both jaws; stout non spatulate teeth; isognathous 


• 6–8 vertical bars on flanks (when distinct), some, or all of them are branched (Y-shaped) close to dorsal fin


• pointed pelvic fins 


• “tilapia spot” in dorsal fin; this usually dissapears in adult fishes, but not C. zillii


• No hump on forehead, no expanded tissue on the roof of the pharynx (“visor-like hanging pad”)


• Nest spawners, with no marked sexual dimorphism and discromatism (sexual differences related to size and color respectively) at breeding time

Distinguishing characte for the species

• Deep bodied species with a steep head profile, narrow head and small mouth; scales with a dark basal crescent (Diagnostic)


• Caudal fin with a spotted dorsal halff and a red or yellow ventral half (Diagnostic)


• Dorsal spines usually XV-XVII


• color variable; often appearing brownish with a white belly, while some individuals have bright red bellies

Taxonomic notes: This species closely resembles Coptodon zillii, but C. rendalli usually have a steeper head profile (and a smaller head and mouth) and less prominent vertical bars; the tailfin of C. rendalli is often divided into a brownish (sometimes) spotted upper part and yellowish lower part, whereas that of C. zillii is uniform and spotted. This species does not occur naturally in Uganda, but has been introduced in many in the Lake Victoria system alongside other non-native "Tilapias", and is widely reported in old literature as Tilapia rendalli. 

Distribution in Uganda: Lake Victoria

Occurence: Introduced

Habitat: Benthopelagic; common in shallow, well-vegetated inshore waters less than 10 m 

Feeding: Herbivore, feeding principally on leaves and stems of rooted aquatic plants and their associated epiphytic algae. It also feeds on bottom deposits in lakes with no submerged vegetation.  

Biology: Similar to C. zillii, the species is substrate spawner where eggs and larvae are usually guarded by both parents in a steep-side circular pit dug in the mud. Not much information exists on the life history of c. rendalli in Lake Victoria population; elsewhere, the fish attains 20 cm in 2 years; 50% of the population is sexually mature at 21.8 cm TL for males and 20.5 cm for females; VBGF parameters are K=0.636 /year, Linf=23.8, and t0=-0.905; reproduction takes place througth the year but peaks between September and March (corresponding with the rainy  season) (Weyl & Hecht, 1998)

Economic importance/End use: This species is not abundant in catches as Oreochromis niloticus, but is an important component in the subsistence fisheries. 

IUCN conservation status: click here to view conservation status

Threats: Fishing

Main references

• Greenwood PH. 1966. The fishes of Uganda. The Uganda Society, Kampala. 131 pages.


• Dunz AR, & Schliewen UK, 2013. Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as “Tilapia.” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 68(1), 64–80. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.015 


• Sharpf C, Lazara J.K. 2018. Fish Name Etymology Database v1. www.etyfish.org.


• Weyl O.L.F.& Hecht T. 1998. The biology of Tilapia rendalli and Oreochromis mossambicus (Pisces: Cichlidae) in a subtropical lake in Mozambique, South African Journal of Zoology, 333, 178-188.