Effects of High Salinity on Survival, Growth, and Reproductive performance of Red Tilapia (Oreochromis urolepis hornorum ♀× Oreochromis mossambicus ♂)

This study estimated the survival, growth, and fry production of red tilapia (Oreochromis urolepis hornorum ♀× Oreochromis mossambicus ♂) broodstock in outdoors farming conditions at various salinity levels (1‰, 25‰, 33‰, 39‰, and 42‰) at 25.3°C–39.0°C. The experiments were conducted in triplicates in 2020 using 300 broodstock per group. The survival rate, growth performance, and fry production were monitored. Our results showed that red tilapia fry production and grow-out farming were feasible under high salinity conditions; however, the various levels of salinity condition exhibited significant differences in terms of survival rate, growth performance, fry production. The results suggest that red tilapia broodstock was maintained under salinity as high as 33‰ without impairing fry production; above 33‰ was feasible for the grow-out stage, implying that the fry production in euryhaline tilapia farming would be practical in regions where freshwater acclimation is limited

Entirely Farm-raised Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus blochii) Under High Salinity in Saudi Arabia

Snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii), a species of economic importance in the Red Sea region, has shown aquaculture potential in Saudi Arabia. The unique environment of the Red Sea causes aquaculture systems to operate under high salinity (42‰–45‰), but there is a lack of information regarding the culture of snubnose pompano in these conditions. This study estimated the survival, growth, and farming costs of snubnose pompano in two production systems: indoor and outdoor tanks. The experiments were performed in triplicate in 2020–2021, with 100 sub-adult fish per production system. The survival rate, growth performance, natural sexual maturation, and farming costs were determined. The results indicated that snubnose pompano culture is feasible under high salinity conditions using the indoor production system considering the significant differences in survival rate and growth performance, although the outdoor system had lower feed and labor costs. After 550 days of rearing, the sub-adult fish weighed more than 1,100–1,200 g, and both males and females had sexually mature gonads. These results show that spawning can be induced in high salinity (42‰) conditions. This study was the first to successfully farm-raise snubnose pompano in Saudi Arabia. Our results can thus be used as a reference for related research and aquaculture development in the Middle East region