The Mozambique tilapia is native to inland and coastal waters in southeastern Africa, from the Zambezi basin in Mozambique, Malawi,  Zambia and Zimbabwe to Bushman River in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.
 It is threatened in its home range by the introduced Nile tilapia.
In addition to competing for the same resources, the two readily hybridize.
This has already been documented from the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, and it is expected that pure Mozambique tilapia eventually will disappear from both.

Otherwise it is a remarkably robust and fecund fish, readily adapting to available food sources and breeding under suboptimal conditions.
Although primarily a fish of fresh and brackish waters, it can live in salt water and even in hypersaline conditions where the salinity can be about three times as high as seawater.
Among others, it occurs in rivers, streams, canals, ponds, lakes, swamps and estuaries, although it typically avoids fast-flowing waters, waters at high altitudes and the open sea.
It inhabits waters that range from 17 to 35 °C (63–95 °F).
The Mozambique tilapia is native to inland and coastal waters in southeastern Africa, from the Zambezi basin in Mozambique, Malawi,  Zambia and Zimbabwe to Bushman River in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.  It is threatened in its home range by the introduced Nile tilapia. In addition to competing for the same resources, the two readily hybridize. This has already been documented from the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, and it is expected that pure Mozambique tilapia eventually will disappear from both.
Otherwise it is a remarkably robust and fecund fish, readily adapting to available food sources and breeding under suboptimal conditions. Although primarily a fish of fresh and brackish waters, it can live in salt water and even in hypersaline conditions where the salinity can be about three times as high as seawater. Among others, it occurs in rivers, streams, canals, ponds, lakes, swamps and estuaries, although it typically avoids fast-flowing waters, waters at high altitudes and the open sea. It inhabits waters that range from 17 to 35 °C (63–95 °F).
Mozambique tilapia