Survival Rate Feed Utilization And Growth Performance Of Fingerlings Of African Catfish Clarias Gariepinus (burchell 1822) At Different Stocking Densities Under Dark Condition

Effect of stocking density on the culture of fingerlings of C. gariepinus has not been well studied in Ethiopia. Therefore, fingerlings of C. gariepinus were reared at four different stocking densities in glass aquaria to evaluate the effect of stocking density on survival rate, feed utilization and growth performance. Fingerlings (n=255) were stocked at a density of 10, 15, 25 and 35 fingerlings/L in triplicates with mean weight of 35.52±1.23, 34.16±1.63, 35.66±0.37 and 35.67±0.63g, respectively, for 12 weeks. Gain in weight was recorded biweekly while water quality parameters except ammonia were recorded daily. An observation on behavioural condition of the fingerlings was also made. Temperature and pH ranged between 22.63- 22.950C and 7.08 to 7.23, respectively, while dissolved oxygen and ammonia ranged between 5.45-5.60mg/L and 0.69-1.91mg/L, respectively. The corresponding value of salinity, TDS and conductivity ranged between 0.11 to 0.13, 0.16 to 0.18mg/L and 246 to 278μS/cm respectively. The survival rate of the fingerlings during the study period was 90, 86.66, 85.33 and 93.33% for treatment I, II, III and IV, respectively. Food Conversion Ratio was 2.51, 12.82, 6.23 and 6.65 for treatment I, II, III and IV, respectively, and the best FCR was obtained for Treatment I (2.51) with the lowest stocking density. Condition factor ranged between 0.504 – 0.54 and it was not significantly affected by stocking density. Aggressiveness and escape attempts routinely occurred in treatments with lowest stocking density while surface swimming was higher at the highest stocking densities. The final mean weights (±S.E) of the fingerlings stocked at densities of 10, 15, 25 and 35 fingerlings were 43.11±1.06, 36.16±1.84, 43.01±2.83 and 46.80±1.40g, respectively. The highest mean weight gain (11.13g) was recorded in treatment stocked with 35 fingerlings /L. Specific growth rate was 0.230, 0.067, 0.223 and 0.323%/day for treatment I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The corresponding value of mean daily growth rate was 0.02, 0.007, 0.07 and 0.04g/day for treatment I, II, III and IV, respectively. The results revealed that fingerlings treated at the highest stocking density exhibited higher survival and growth rate than those with the lowest density.rnKey words; aggressiveness, C. gariepinus fingerlings, food conversion ratio, growth, stocking density

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