Coptodon rendalli, an adult photographed in
Malawi. This important food fish is known to English-speaking southern
Africans as the Redbreast Tilapia. It is known generically as
Chambo in Malawi. According to FishBase
(see the
species account there), C. rendalli attains a total length of
fully 45 cm (17.7 inches) and a weight of 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds)!
It is widely distributed in
western, central, and southern Africa. Its diet consists chiefly of
higher aquatic plants. Among all cichlids found in Lake Malawi, it
is unique in being the only one that is not a maternal mouthbrooder.
Instead, the eggs and subsequent young are guarded on a rock or in a
crater by both parents (Turner, 1996).
Photo copyright © by M. K. Oliver.
