Moreover, O. mossambicus became widely established in the Asia and Pacific region as an alien, invasive, and sometimes problematic species in natural waters and in fishponds used to farm shrimp and milkfish. Consequently, tilapia farming in Asia failed to develop until the Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), a faster growing and more manageable species than O. mossambicus, was introduced from Africa in the 1960s.