Food and feeding habits of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) in Ethiopian water bodies: A review

Abstract

The food and feeding habits of the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus was reviewed in Ethiopian water bodies. Data were collected from June 2017 through November 2017 from different sources of information. The results indicated that Nile tilapia is omnivorous, where phytoplankton, macrophytes, insects, detritus and zooplankton were the most important food items. The plant origin foods were the most dominant food item and the seasonal variation in the diet composition is not found in the water bodies except in Lake Koka. Phytoplankton was the most commonly consumed food item in the dry season, whereas macrophytes, detritus, zooplankton and aquatic insects were common in wet season. The fish showed similar trends of different ontogenetic dietary shifts in all water bodies as it increases in size. The small sized groups ( 15 cm TL) mainly feed on phytoplankton, detritus and macrophytes. This showed that they are shifting from omnivorous feeding habit to herbivorous feeding habit with increase in size. Generally, the feeding biology of fish is depending on prey availability, season, habitat differences and size of the fish, aspects that might warrant further study in view of aquaculture applications as well as climate change differently.