This fish is found widely in fresh and brackish waters in the northern half of Africa and the Middle East.

[1][3] Elsewhere in Africa, Asia, Australia and North America, it has been introduced as a food fish or as a control of aquatic vegetation.

[7][failed verification] In Africa, the native range of the redbelly tilapia covers the northern half of the continent.

[1][3][4] In the Maghreb and Sahara where fewer aquatic habitats are available, the range is much more spotty but with several relict populations in seasonal rivers, lakes and oases (gueltas).

[8][9][11] In Western Asia, the only other native cichlids are a few species of oreochromine tilapias and the Jordan mouthbrooder (Astatotilapia flaviijosephi).

In contrast, the virtually unknown C. ismailiaensis of northeastern Egypt might only be an aberrant redbelly tilapia; it primarily differs in its unspotted tail.

[14] The redbelly tilapia has a preference for shallow waters with vegetation,[3] but it also occurs in more open habitats like sandy shores and as deep as 30 m (100 ft).

It often (for example, when agitated) has a faint/poorly defined dark pattern consisting of two horizontal lines on the body crossed by about half a dozen vertical bars.

Breeding adults are more greenish overall, have iridescent blue-green spots on the head and bright pinkish-red underparts.