Zootechnical performances of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) reared in tanks and cages, based on commercial feed

The aim of this study was to assess for 150 days, the influence of the breeding system (tank, floating cage) and sex (male, female) on the growth of Clarias gariepinus . Then, 6,400 C. gariepinus fry (Average body weight : 103.91±32.74g and total length: 24.08±2.31 cm) were distributed into two floating cages (5 x 5 x 2.5 m 3 ) on Lake Toho in Benin and two concrete tanks (3.8 x 3.8 x 1.5 m 3 ) at densities of 2000 individuals / cage and 1200 individuals / tank. The fish were hand-fed three times daily until apparent satiety, with a pelleted commercial feed containing 45% crude protein. At the end, the mean daily weight gain, protein efficiency ratio, specific growth rate, feed conversion rate, fish survival, and water quality parameters were evaluated. The results showed that cage-reared fish performed better than those in tanks, even though the survival rate showed no significant difference.

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