Abstract
Geometry of fish tanks tends to affect the growth and yield of fish. The impact of tank geometry on the production of Clarias gariepinus was evaluated. Circular, rectangular and ellipsoid tanks were used to test the variation of water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and total suspended solids on African catfish growth performance. Results on water temperature, pH, DO, were within the acceptable ranges of 24.9-25.9°C, 6.39-7.52 and 5.81-8.32 mg/l, for circular tank; 25.1-26.1ËšC, 6.49-7.53 and 3.96-8.53 mg/l, for rectangular tank; and 24.5-26.2°C, 6.49-7.50 and 5.08-8.43 mg/l, for ellipsoid tank; respectively. Weight gain ranged from 14 to 576 g, 13 to 330 g and 14 to 557 g; feed conversion ratio (FCR) ranged from 1.11-1.33, 1.23-1.54 and 1.22-1.34; specific growth rate (SGR) ranged from 0.40 g/day to 3.64 g/day, 0.11 to 2.27 g/day and 0.79 to 3.12 g/day; survival rate were >88, >84 and >92% for circular, rectangular and ellipsoid tanks, respectively. Except for weight gain and FCR, all other parameters (length increment, SGR and survival rate) showed no significant difference (P = .05) among the 3 tank geometries. Benefit cost ratio (BCR) for the circular, ellipsoid and rectangular tank was 1.12, 1.13 and 0.79, respectively. Key words: Aquatic system, benefit-cost, ellipsoid tank, growth performance, mudfish.
Highlights
With declining wild fish stock vis-a-vis the growing world’s population, demand for fish is ever-increasing due to the health benefits derived from its consumption (Wenaty et al, 2018)
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of tank geometry on the production of African Catfish and estimate the economic viability of using circular, rectangular and ellipsoid tanks for the culture of this species
The study was conducted at the Aquaponics-based Food Systems (AFS) cottage located at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Fumesua in the Ashanti region of Ghana
Summary
With declining wild fish stock vis-a-vis the growing world’s population, demand for fish is ever-increasing due to the health benefits derived from its consumption (Wenaty et al, 2018). Aquaculture is proposed as a viable alternative to increase fish production, enhance nutrition and wealth creation, as well as sustain livelihoods of communities (Alhassan et al, 2018). According to FAO (2016), fish has maintained a prime position over the years as the favourite source of animal protein in Ghana, with about 75% of annual production being consumed locally, with the mean per capita fish consumption estimated at about 26 kg per person. One of the most cultured fish species in Africa is the African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus).
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