Common names:
Blue spotted tilapia
Lunyankole: Kinyamulolo Around Lake Ablert: Nzinzi

Taxonomic tree
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
Order: Cichliformes (Cichlids)
Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids)
Genus: Oreochromis
Species: Oreochromis leucostictus (Trewavas, 1933)
Number of Occurrancies: 833

Etymology(based on Scharpf & Lazara, 2019)

• Oreochromis: oreos, mountains, referring to Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), location of O. hunteri, type species; chromis, possibly derived from chroemo (to neigh), referring to a drum (Sciaenidae) and its ability to make noise, later expanded to embrace cichlids, damselfishes, dottybacks and wrasses (all perch-like fishes once thought to be related), often used in the names of African cichlid genera following Chromis (now Oreochromis) mossambicus Peters 1852.


• leucostictus: leukos, meaning white; stiktos, meaning spotted or blotched, presumably referring to body scales, “in part dark, in part pearly grey”

Synonyms: click here to view synonyms

Type locality: Lake George, Kazinga Channel, and Lake Edward (Uganda). Syntypes 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

• More gillrakers (usually 18-28) on the first gill arch


• Outermost teeth bicuspid in young and in adult females, but in mature males of several species becoming unicuspid by wear or replacement: Note that O. niloticus is an exception; some or all teeth of outermost row are replaced by tricuspids


• Genital papilla of male and female well developed


• Maternal mouth-brooders, usually with marked sexual dimorphism and discromatism (sexual differences related to size and color respectively) at breeding time; males have distinctive and conspicuous breeding colors and are often bigger than females


• Jaws that are greatly enlarged as fish matures, especially males


• Scales of belly smaller, in some species much smaller, than those of flanks; transition between the two sizes gradual or abrupt


• Pharyngeal teeth ranging from relatively coarse, with the length of the lower dentigerous area approximately equal to that of the blade or a little longer, to very fine on a reduced dentigerous area.

Distinguishing characte for the species

• Body with numerous white spots; Caudal fin intensely spotted; length/depth ratio of caudal peduncle 0.5-0.8 (Diagnostic)


• Colour is variable depending on habitat: Typically, body dark olive-green to slaty-black, clearly marked with white spots; lower lip often bluish-white; 8-11 8-11 dark verticle stripes sometimes visible on the flanks. Dorsal, anal, and caudal fin dark; the soft dorsal fin, the entire caudal fin and the anal fin with well-defined bluish-white spots. In breeding males the ground colour changes to dark blue black, whilst the white spots on the body intensify. 


• The Tilapia mark in young individuals is a relatively indistinct marbling on a yellow background.

Additional remarks: This species has been introduced in many systems in the Lakes Victoria and Kyoga basins, but not as successful as O. niloticus. 

Distribution in Uganda: Occurs naturally in Lakes Edward, George and Albert, and affluent rivers and streams of these lakes and of the Semliki River. However the species was introduced in many other systems, notably Lakes Victoria and Kyoga basins (see the map) in the mid-1950s. 

Occurence: Native/Introduced.

Habitat: Benthopelagic; common in shallow waters near papyrus fringes, in lagoons, and shallow muddy bays and river inlets or fairly exposed inshore areas. 

Feeding: Phytoplanktivore, feeding on phytoplankton and bottom deposits largely formed by the rain of phytoplankton from the surface layers.  

Biology: The species has been observed to grow to 30 cm (weighing 565g) in natural waters. Breeding Oreochromis leucostictus is female mouth-brooder, without well-defined breeding seasons; sexually active fishes are found throughout the year. In Lake Victoria, the species breeds in shallow (<3 m) muddy bottoms in sheltered inlets and in the papyrus fringe. In the main lake, males and females start to breed at 15 cm and 12 cm, respectively. Fecundity ranges between 100-1000 eggs in fishes of up to 26 cm TL. The species attains up to 15 cm TL by the end of the first year and 24 cm TL by the end of the third year.

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 IUCN status

Threats: Fishing; destruction of inshore fringing vegetation where the species breeds

Main references

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


• Twewavas E. 1983. Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. British Museum (Natural History), London. 604 pages


• Sharpf C, Lazara J.K. 2019. Fish Name Etymology Database v5. www.etyfish.org


• Witte F & van Densen W.L.T. 1995. Fish Stocks and Fisheries of Lake Victoria: a handbook for field observations. Samara Publishing Limited, Netherlands