Comparison Of Growth Of Organic Tilapia From Selective Breeding Program, Fed With Organic Pellet Feed and Duckweed Under The Biofloc Farming System

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the growth performance of organic tilapia from the selective breeding program, fed with organic pellet feed and duckweed under the biofloc farming system. A total of 100 full sib families with stocking weight 20.2 (7.54) g was randomly separated from each family and divided into two groups. Each group was stocked in four separates 2m by 2m by 1m cages, the cages were hanged in 64 m3 P.E. tank under biofloc system. The first group was fed with organic pellets (34% protein feed), for 4 replicates in the same tank. Another group was fed with duckweed, for 4 replicates in another same tank. After two months of rearing, the growths of organic tilapia from the selective breeding program fed with organic pellet feed and duckweed under the biofloc farming system were not significantly different (p>0.05) for both total weight and length. The total weight and length of organic tilapia fed with duckweed and organic pellet feed were 29.47 (23.55) and 29.09 (23.67) g, respectively. The main finding of the present study is that the duckweed can be used in a selective breeding program of Nile tilapia without altering the relative performance of the families. This finding is of benefit since it justifies the current trends of organic tilapia production.