Effect of Local Food on the Growth Performance of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Fry Reared at the Peyrie Fish Farm Station in Gabon

Abstract

To assess the effects of two rations on growth performance of Clarias gariepinus fry, a study was carried out at the Peyrie fish farm station in Libreville, Gabon. To this effect, 3000 fry aged 14 days with 80 mg live weight were used. The animals were randomly distributed into six plastic tanks of 0.62 m3 each with three replications per treatment. They were fed the ration T, a ration formulated with fishmeal and broiler chick feed, and the commonly used ration (CR), within 4 weeks. Weight growth, mean weight gain (MWG), daily individual growth (DIG), specific growth rate (SGR), survival rate (SR), nutrient quotient (NQ), protein efficiency ratio (PER), quantity of feed distributed and manufacturing cost per kg of feed were evaluated. It appears that there is no significant difference (p> 0.05) between the growth parameters of the fry regardless of the ration (T and CR). Thus, at the end of the study, for the CR and the ration T, a final mean weight of 3.481 ± 1.02 g vs 3.409 ± 0.97 g respectively was obtained; a MWG of 3.401 ± 0.31 g vs 3.330 ± 0.23 g; a DIG of 20.24 ± 7.44 mg/day vs 19.82 ± 5.58 mg/day, a SGR of 1.54 ± 0.22% mg/day vs 1.49 ± 0.27% mg/day and a SR of 26.13 ± 4.44% vs 20.60 ± 1.47%. In addition, a NQ of 1.52 ± 1.08 vs 1.21 ± 0.65 and a PER of 1.41 ± 0.81 vs 1.84 ± 0.39 and the quantity of feed of 1.96 kg vs 1.77 kg were also determined. In view of all these results, the ration T can be recommended for feeding Clarias gariepinus fry at the age of 14 days.