Nutritional Freshwater Life
188
Order: Perciformes
Family: Latidae
Common name: Nile perch.
Distribution: Ethiopian region of Africa;
Lake Mariout, near Alexandria. Exists
in Lakes Albert, Victoria, Rudolph,
Nyanza, and Tana. Oubanguhi River
at Bangui, French Congo; central North
America (Froese and Pauly, 2003b).
Habitat: Freshwater channels, lakes,
and irrigation canals; brackish waters
of lakes.
Description: Body of this species is
elongated, compressed, and deep. Head
has concave snout profiles. Opercle has
one spine. Lateral line extends onto
caudal peduncle, reaching the posterior margin of the fin. Pelvic axis has
scaly process. Dorsal fin is bipartite
with seven or eight spines on the first
part. One spine and 8–11 soft rays are
on the second part. Anal fin has three
spines and six to nine soft rays. Caudal
fin is rounded. It grows to a maximum
size  of 2 m and 200 kg (Froese and
Pauly, 2003b).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (g/100 g DM)
Lipid
Protein
Moisture a
6.8
77.9
75.6
a Wet weight.
Minerals (mg/g DM)
K
P
Ca Na Mg Zn a Fe a Cu a
11,550 7270 2305 2395 705 62 26 0.9
a µg.
Essential Amino Acids
(EAAs) (µg/g DM)
Leucine
244.1
Isoleucine
151.1
Valine
167.3
Threonine
153.9
Lysine
281.1
Histidine
105.3
Methionine
106.9
Phenylalanine
139.1
Total EAAs
1348.8
Source: Data from Mohamed
et al. (2010).
FaMiLy: CiChLidae (CiChLidS)
Oreochromis aureus Steindachner 1864
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cichlidae
Common name: Blue tilapia.
Distribution: Africa and Eurasia (Casal,
1995c).
Habitat: Warm ponds and impoundments as well as lakes and streams.