Effects of temperature on hatchability, development and growth of eggs and yolksac fry of Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) under artificial incubation

Abstract

. The eggs and yolk sac fry of the mouth brooding tilapia. Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters), were artificially reared in an experimental hatchery system at different temperatures. The hatchability, embryonic development of eggs and growth of yolk sac fry were studied under controlled conditions. It was shown that the upper lethal temperature for O. mossambicus eggs was above 40°C and the lower lethal temperature between 11°C and 17°C. For yolk sac fry these values lay between 34 and 40°C and 17 and 20°C respectively. Fry survival between 24·3 and 34·0°C was near to 100% while al 20°C it was less than 60%. The somatic growth rates of fry at temperature between 20 and 34·5°C up to 10 days post hatch are presented and were found to differ significantly. At 34·6°C a negative SGR was recorded during the period 6–9 days post hatching, but, during the first 6 days, the SGR at this temperature was more than four times higher than at 20°C. At the elevated temperatures, the utilization of yolk is faster and the loss of weight observed was due to starvation. This should be taken into account when incubating under artificial rearing condition so that initiation of exogenous feeding is timed most appropriately.