Comparative Study of Growth Performance of Three Tilapia Strain in Intensive Culture System

Abstract

High stocking density is an important factor in cultivation to increase the eficency if fish farming for nutrition requirements. High stocking density generally impact on fish physiology and growth performance. However, many studies on individual fish have different growth perfromance from different strain. Some technology had been developed to optimize tilapia production in high stocking density. This study aimed to determine the growth performance of three different strain of tilapia (red tilapia, nirwana tilapia, and jatimbulan tilapia) reared in 20 m3 of round tarpaulin with additional of microbubble generator. This study used an intensive system with 100 fish/m3 of stocking density. The results showed that the microbubble generator was able to increase the carrying capacity of water quality such as increasing dissolved oxygen in the waters, temperature and pH. The high content of dissolved oxygen in the water significantly increasing the growth of tilapia. The highest weight was found in red tilapia with a final weight of 199.56 ± 0.05 gr, followed by Nirwana tilapia with 176.59 ± 0.10 gr, and Jatimbulan tilapia with 153.91 ± 0.06 gr. In addition, the high content of dissolved oxygen in the waters also affect the rearing period of tilapia.