ND56 is a manmade tilapia strain. It is produced by breeding a male from the ND-6 Tilapia family line with a female from the ND-5 Tilapia family line. The ND5 & ND6 Tilapia family lines are manmade selectively line bred strains specially selected for their desirable genetic qualities and pure heritage. Impurities in the bloodline can affect the result of spawning and prevent mono-sex tilapia from being created.

ND56 tilapia has a long row of good qualities of which the four most important ones are:

• ND56 tilapia grows very fast and its growth rate is equal to that found in Oreochromis niloticus.
• It is a very docile fish and this calm behaviour will reduce the number of fish fatalities associated with handling and sorting the tilapia. It will also make handling and harvesting a lot easier.
• ND56 tilapias can be farmed in pure saltwater as they are highly salt tolerant and tolerate a salinity up to 35 ppt. This allows for the breeding of tilapia in waters that might otherwise not be suitable for tilapia breeding. The high salinity tolerance also makes this species ideal to use in combined shrimp and tilapia farms.
• ND56 tilapias have a very attractive appearance. Their skin is uniformly red, without any white areas or spots. They look a lot like red snappers and this makes them highly sought after in certain fish markets were red fish is preferred over other colours.

This strain is not mono-sex but it is possible to produce ND56 mono-sex tilapia by using hormones. Treating the larvae with hormones for 21 days at the initial larval stage will cause all females to develop into males.