THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT STOCKING DENESITIES AND DIETARY PROTEIN LEVELS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AFRICAN CATFISH (Clarias gariepinus) FINGERLINGS

Abstract

The current experiment was randomly designed as a 3×2 factorial design to investigate the effects of two fixed factor (stocking density & dietary protein level) on growth performance, feed utilization, survival rate and physiological response of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Fishes were allotted in 18 concrete (8×3×0.5 m 3 ; L×W×H) tanks at three different stocking density 30, 20 and 10 catfish fingerlings / m3 and fed on two different protein diets (25 and 30%). Each treatment was applied in three replicates. Fishes were fed 2.5% of biomass body weight twice/day. Results showed that growth performance, feed utilization, survival rate and hematological parameters were significantly improved with increased dietary protein level with low stocking density. The sixth treatment (high protein level 30% and lowest stocking density; 10 fish/m 3 ) exhibited the highest growth performance with no mortalities. Based on the results of the current study, it could be recommended to use protein level diet of 30% or more and stocking density of 10 catfish fingerlings/ m 3 to obtain high productivity in a short time with consequent decreased cost.

Influence of stocking density on water quality and growth performance in production of juvenile pirarucu, Arapaima gigas, in irrigation canals

“…High stocking densities can act as stressors, resulting in reduced growth and increased feed conversion rate (RAHMAN et al, 2005;SUZIKI et al, 2001). Therefore, it is very important to adjust the stocking density with the carrying capacity of the aquaculture system (MAGOUZ et al, 2019). In the present study, the stocking density did affect growth parameters.…”