Nile tilapia has a flat body, a straight or slightly raised head and a comb-shaped body. The mouth is big and the lips are thick, and the mouth fissure is between the nostril and the eye margin or extends to the eye margin; The body color is yellow-brown, with a black spot on the gill cover and a white throat; The lateral line is broken, showing two discontinuous lines. There are 9 black bands perpendicular to the body axis on both sides of the adult fish, and there are 9 ~15 vertical black stripes on the caudal fin all the life, and the end is round and blunt and not forked. The dorsal fin and gluteal fin also have black stripes arranged obliquely, and the edge of dorsal fin is black. There is a large and obvious black spot on the dorsal fin of young fish, which gradually disappears later. In the non-reproductive period, the body color is yellow-brown During the breeding period, the edges of the tail fin, hip fin and dorsal fin of male fish are red, and the head and body side are pale red. Body color can change rapidly with the change of environment. In a white or light-colored environment, the body color is grayish white; In black or dark environment, the body color becomes darker.

Oreochromis aurea has a flat body, a raised back and a comb-shaped body. The snout is blunt and prominent; The small end of the mouth, the mouth crack does not reach the anterior margin; The lateral line is broken, showing two discontinuous lines. The body color is blue-gray, and there is a dark blue patch behind the gill cover. The throat is silvery gray. The pigment of the scales on the side is deeper than the edge, and there are vertical dark bands on both sides of the fish. Adult fish have a bluish-black back and a lighter abdomen. The edge of dorsal fin is red; The pectoral fin is light gray and transparent; Hip fin is dark blue; The ventral fin is dark blue with reproductive processes. There are blue-green spots on the caudal fin for life, and no obvious longitudinal or transverse dark stripes are formed, and its end is flat and not forked, showing orange red. The surface of juvenile fish is gray with metallic luster, and there is a gray vertical dark band on its side. There is a big black spot on the hard spine of the dorsal fin of young fish, which gradually disappears later. Body color will deepen or fade rapidly due to the change of environment.

Oreochromis niloticus has most characteristics of parental morphology. Its shape is close to its female parent Nile tilapia, with flat side and straight or slightly raised head. The posture is fuller and fatter than that of parents. Body shape and tail handle are short and high. The body is comb-shaped, and the lateral line is broken, showing two discontinuous lines. The tail fin end is blunt and round; The dorsal fin and gluteal fin have black and white markings. There are black and white stripes on the tail fin similar to Nile tilapia. The dorsal fin edge is blue-black and the caudal fin edge is red when sexually mature. There are irregular black stripes and spots on the side. The body color is light blue, the back is deep, and the lower side and abdomen are shallow. The head is green, and there are obvious blue patches at the back of gill cover. Body color will also deepen or fade rapidly due to changes in the environment.

The shape of Gili tilapia is between that of New Giffordshire tilapia and that of Salotilapia. Its body color is lighter than that of Nile tilapia, the whole body is grayish white, its back is orange or golden yellow, and its ventral pearl is blue. Its head and snout are slightly larger than that of Nile tilapia, but obviously smaller than that of Salotilapia, and its snout is blunt. On both sides of the body, there are inconspicuous punctate strips perpendicular to the body and parallel to each other. There are no vertical and parallel stripes on the caudal fin like Nile tilapia, and there are no obvious black spots on the cheeks of adults. The tail fin and back edge of sexually mature male fish show obvious marriage color.