Reproductive Biology
Like all other known Oreochromis, O. lidole is a maternal mouthbrooder: females carry the eggs and small juveniles in their mouths for several weeks. When juveniles have absorbed their yolk sacs, they are released to forage independently, under the female's guard, but are allowed to return to their mother's mouth when danger threatens. Females produce up to 700 young and have been recorded to guard fry up to 5 cm long. Breeding mainly occurs during the hot season from October to January, when males gather in deep water (mainly 20-45m) off clean, steeply shelving beaches to dig huge craters (1-3m in diameter) in which courtship and spawning takes place. Females often migrate to more productive turbid waters to release their young, in areas such as Lake Malombe.
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