Tilapia are sometimes known as "aquatic chicken" due to their high growth rates, adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions, and ability to grow and reproduce in captivity and feed on low trophic levels. As a result, these fishes ahave become excellent candidates for aquaculture, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Indeed, tilapia culture has been expanding rapidly, and is now practiced in more than one hundred countries worldwide. There is a large and growing literature on tilapia in specialist journals, but there have been few attempts to synthesize this by a single author. This book aims to fill this gap in the literature, by despcribing in detail the principles and practice of tilapia culture.