The Growth Performance of African Catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) Fed Commercially Prepared Imported Fish Feeds

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different imported fish feeds on the performance of juvenile African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus). A-13 week feeding trial was conducted using 225 juveniles which were randomly assigned to five treatment groups in 15 indoor plastic tanks at a stocking rate of 15 fish per tank and three (3) replicates per treatment. The fish were fed at 5% body weight, twice daily. The five treatments were Coppens (T1), Aqua (T2), Ranna (T3), Pira (T4) and Durante (T5). Data for each parameter was subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) while means of various results were compared at 5% level of significance. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the weight gain among the treatments, with 54.07g and 21.73g for fish fed with Aqua and Rana respectively. Also, there were significant differences in the specific growth rate (SGR) as well as the protein efficiency ratio (PER) among the feed brands with Aqua and Rana having 2.79 and 1.97 as well as 1.49 and 1.12 respectively. In all the treatments, there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the survival rates of the fish with the highest percentage in fish fed with Coppens (93.33%). A kilogram of Aqua and Pira feeds each cost $1.75 while the estimated costs of feeding one individual fish to a weight gain of 1kg using the same feeds were $2.78 and $3.73 respectively. Although, from this feeding trial, it is expensive to raise a kilogramme of fish using Pira fish feed, but due to the high survival rate, it is recommended for catfish production. It is assumed that the biomass harvested will make up for the cost incurred.