Abstract
This work evaluates the growth and body development of Oreochromis niloticus in floating cages in the Toho Lake of Benin. Thus, 6000 juvenile monosex male with an average initial weight of 8.87 ± 4.89 g and average initial total length of 7.87 ± 1.43 cm were randomly distributed in two floating cages (5 x 5 x 2.5 m3) at the stocking density of 3000 fish/cage. The fish were hand-fed to apparent satiation, three times daily, using 45-32% crude protein commercial pelleted floating feed Skretting®. The physico-chemical parameters of lake water recorded every 72 hours during the experiment were within the suitable ranges for fish culture and were as follows: temperature (27.78 ± 0.41 °C), pH (7.55 ± 0.22), dissolved oxygen (4.03 ± 0.96 mg/l), ammonium (0.31 ± 0.18 mg/l), nitrite (0.29 ± 0.07 mg/l) and nitrate (0.27 ± 0.12 mg/l). The variables studied at the end of the 215 days of rearing were as follows: final mean total length (26.61 ± 2.99 cm), final mean standard length (22.40 ± 2.74 cm), final mean predorsal length (6.93 ± 0.94 cm), final mean head length (3.45 ± 0.58 cm), final mean dorsal fin base length (13.55 ± 2.96 cm), final mean inter-orbital width (2.97 ± 0.37 cm), final mean body height (8.57 ± 1.56 cm) and final mean caudal peduncle height (3.27 ± 0.39 cm). The zootechnical growth parameters evaluated were as follows: survival rate (91.5%), final mean body weight (402.18 ± 137.05 g), average daily weight gain (1.83 ± 0.08 g), specific growth rate (0.77 ± 0.03%/day), feed conversion ratio (1.74 ± 0.09%) and protein efficiency ratio (1.62 ± 0.06). These results compared to the literature indicate interesting growth and body development and it would be important to promote in-cage farming of Oreochromis niloticus.
Highlights
There are about 80 species of tilapia, mostly from the African continent and, beyond the Suez Canal, from the region of Israel and Jordan among which, only some of the Oreochromis genus have the qualities required for aquaculture (Legros, 1995)
The present study aims to evaluate the growth performance and body development of Oreochromis niloticus, in floating cage based on imported commercial feed, with a view to translating the results into a diffusion technological package
The results showed that physico-chemical parameters remained within the optimum gaps for tilapias, evidenced by the survival rate of 91.5% obtained
Summary
There are about 80 species of tilapia, mostly from the African continent and, beyond the Suez Canal, from the region of Israel and Jordan among which, only some of the Oreochromis genus have the qualities required for aquaculture (Legros, 1995). The zootechnical characteristics of Oreochromis niloticus or tilapia (the ease with which they can breed, their relatively fast growth, their high tolerance to extreme rearing and harsh environmental conditions (high stocking density, low oxygen levels, etc.), resistance to handling, resistance to disease, good consumer acceptance) make this species, the most interesting and the basis of the freshwater fish farming in the intertropical belt of the globe (Legros, 1995; Arrignon, 1998; Lazard, 2007). In view of all the above, one of the possibilities for optimizing the production of Oreochromis niloticus or Nile tilapia could be its cage culture as it presents more advantages over other farming methods, such as culture ponds or raceways (Care, 2000; Gupta and Acosta, 2004). By integrating the cage culture system into the aquatic ecosystem the carrying capacity per unit area is optimized because the free flow of
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