Due to human introductions, it is now found in many tropical and subtropical habitats around the globe, where it can become an invasive species because of its robust nature.

[3] The native Mozambique tilapia is laterally compressed, and has a deep body with long dorsal fins, the front part of which have spines.

[1] Otherwise it is a remarkably robust and fecund fish, readily adapting to available food sources and breeding under suboptimal conditions.

They can consume detritus, diatoms, phytoplankton,[16] invertebrates, small fry and vegetation ranging from macroalgae to rooted plants.

Due to their robust nature, Mozambique tilapias often over-colonize the habitat around them, eventually becoming the most abundant species in a particular area.

[20] In terms of social structure, Mozambique tilapias engage in a system known as lek-breeding, where males establish territories with dominance hierarchies while females travel between them.

Social hierarchies typically develop because of competition for limited resources including food, territories, or mates.

[22] In experiments with captive tilapias, evidence demonstrates the formation of linear hierarchies where the alpha male participates in significantly more agonistic interactions.

However, contrary to popular belief, Mozambique tilapias display more agonistic interactions towards fish that are farther apart in the hierarchy scale than they do towards individuals closer in rank.

In this context, members of this social system tend to avoid confrontations with neighboring ranks in order to conserve resources rather than engage in an unclear and risky fight.

Thus, both the initial stage of lek formation and the maintenance of social hierarchy may highly depend on the males’ varying urinary output.

[24] Aggression amongst males usually involve a typical sequence of visual, acoustic, and tactile signals that eventually escalates to physical confrontation if no resolution is reached.

In order to prevent cheating, in which individual may fake his own fitness, these aggressive rituals incur significant energetic costs.

[25] In the first step in the reproductive cycle for Mozambique tilapia, males excavate a nest into which a female can lay her eggs.

Thus, mating success is highly skewed towards dominant males, who tend to be larger, more aggressive, and more effective at defending territories.

Studies have shown that females are attracted to dominant males who produce lower peak frequencies as well as higher pulse rates.

Male Mozambique tilapias synchronize breeding behavior in terms of courtship activity and territoriality in order to take advantage of female spawning synchrony.

Unlike most fish, Mozambique tilapias exhibit an extended maternal care period believed to allow social bonds to be formed.

[31] Mozambique tilapia are hardy individuals that are easy to raise and harvest, making them a good aquacultural species.

Because of these abilities they have been used as bioassay organisms to generate metal toxicity data for risk assessments of local freshwater species in South Africa rivers.