Journal of Aquaculture Research & Development

Abstract

Enhancing Growth and Disease Resistance in North African Catfish Fingerlings: The Role of Aeration

Emmanuel Delwin Abarike*, Aminatu Issaka and Felix Kofi Agbeko Kuebutornye

The research explores the impacts of aeration on the growth and well-being of North African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, raised in concrete tanks. Fish of mean weight 1.96 ± 0.22 g of three experimental groups in triplicates (30 fish per replicate group) were set to include, 0 h daily aeration group (control group), 12 h overnight aeration (i.e. 1800 h to 0600 h) group and a 24 h continues aeration (daily aeration) group, within a mean temperature of 28°C ± 0.21°C fed a commercial diet for 8 weeks. Data on Weight Gain Rate percent (WGR%), Specific Growth Rate percent (SGR%), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and haematological parameters Cumulative Mortality (CM), and Relative Percent Survival (RPS) to Aeromonas hydrophila infection were measured. Results from the study showed that 24 h aeration is best in improving WGR% and SGR% while both 12 h and 24 h of aeration are better in improving FCR compared to the 0 h aeration (P<0.05). The water DO level was 8.24 ± 0.16 mg/l for the 24 h aeration groups throughout the 8 weeks of experimentation whiles significantly lower Mean Capsular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Capsular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) levels were found in 12 h and 24 h aeration groups compared to the 0 h aeration group (P<0.05). The CM after A. hydrophila challenge test showed similarity (P>0.05) in the 12 (12.22 ± 2.22 %) and 24 h (6.67 ± 2.22 %) groups in comparison to the 0 h (25.56 ± 1.92 %) group. The RPS was significantly higher in the 24 h group. The results suggest that aerating culture tank systems for 24 hours daily is an economically safe measure and could improve the growth and well-being of C. gariepinus as well as increase profits up to ~45 %.

Published Date: 2024-02-07; Received Date: 2024-01-08