ID please

last weekend i went fishing in a dam called klipfontein we catch a lot of this (talapie) they are between 1kg and 2.5kg real big for normal kurpurs ,I'm don't know what species it is ,it looks like blue kurper but this dam is in kzn.can some one help here.

 

Hmmmmmmm............
That red tail....
Let me look at my angling book,lol,when i find it.I think my son took it to his room.

 

BLOU in the face!

It IS a Blue Kurper! Definitely.

Originally called Tilapia ~, then Sarotherodon ~, and most recently Oreochromis mossambicus
"Mozambican Mouthbreeder or Tilapia

There is a Xanthistic( red-Pink) Version sometimes avail in pet shops.
Some are bred for table appeal, others for visual attraction inponds or aquaria ..or a bit of both!..

Below is the Reddest strain bred to date! Cherry Snapper

Both are even misrepresented in LFS as "Egyptian Mouthbrooders", another, much smaller fish altogether.


I have bred both these forms before, in a 90L tank...I know it's common place nowadays.
I knew they were a local fish, but not specifically which species.
Back In the days when <5 Malawi Mbuna species were available in the aquarium trade in SA.

I even earned BAP (Breeder Award Program) points for this, while in junior school, after pointing it out in an OLD American Tropical Fish Handbook.
to Eastern Cape Aquarist Society Chairman Jimmy Wood , at the time.

Once, I heard from Nature Conservation types....I abandoned the project, and donated the fish to the local Public aquarium(Now BAYWORLd, PE) for their TROPICAL HOUSE display

Sale of it as a hobby-fish is not to be condoned, it's movement within SA highly regulated.
I , personally have seen it caught out at SEA, a few km away from shore!

VERY, very adaptable....thus Extremely invasive..while OTHER Tilapiines are easily tougher than it

Oh, nice catch BTW, Hope you grilled it. :bigsmile:

"Tilapia" fillets are GREAT eating ....

HTH

Angling Record is>3kg( See link)

 

Thanks altum and slojo, so the blue kurper have find his way down to Natal is it on the black list as well?
i released that fish again i think they started to spawn.But i like grilled fillets so next time.

 

Think AGAIN

You're welcome!

Where is Moazambique?
Just above KZN, right?
Wonder where it got it's name....:bigsmile:

It is known AS an East Coast species. Always been around Pongola, Natal, Swaziland, Eastern Cape. Modern distribution, due to human influence, accidental or otherwise, is quite extensive.

You just didn't know it...probably due to our Vaalie pals always catching them and calling it "Blou Kurper".

Ja, ALL Sarotherodon spp. are blacklisted for import into SA, and between provinces.

 

Just an interesting factabout angling and anglers.

Species like carp and Blue Kurper,if you catch them you are NOT allowed by law to release them,but being a specimen angler myself i do release them,thereby actually breaking the law.
So i have decided to meet halfway,Carp under 7KG I keep(Fully stocked fridge) over 7KG I release.

 

i haven't catch a 7kg carp in years! But you are right all carp and kurper must be fillet and freeze but hoe listens to our GOV HA HA

 

Hey Ben how about a PM with directions to that dam, that is a HUGE fish for a Talapia one of the biggest Iv seen and Im a keen angler who lives in Natal

Ps Iv also bread these fish, amazingly hardy and quite pretty, just a pity about the agro behaviour once they hit sexual maturity..

 

The dam is just out side (5km) Vryheid in N kzn.

 

If I may ask
Why are you not allowed to throw back carp

 

Carp is an Invasive species originally brought from England and is not native to our waters(LOL speaking of about 150 years ago......So maybe seeing as they are born here maybe then they are "native" to S.A.???)

 

WIll have to ask them for Id's then when you catch them....lol