GROWTH RESPONSES OF AFRICAN CATFISH, CLARIAS GARIEPINUS, FINGERLINGS TO IMPORTED AND LOCAL FEEDS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The comparative growth responses of African catfish fingerlings (Clarias gariepinus) fed with three local (Chivita, aquaplus, Vital) and three imported (Skrettings, Multifeeds, Coppens) feeds was studied under laboratory conditions, September and October, 2009 with the aim of establishing the best quality feed in terms of specific growth rate, total weight and percentage survival rate, for a period of 8 weeks. One hundred and twenty (120) fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus and six commercial feeds with varying crude proteins namely, Chivita, Aquaplus, Vital, Skrettings, Multifeeds and Coppens, were used for the experiment. Some water quality parameters analyzed indicated temperature varied from 25.5 0 C to 28.0 0 C while pH and dissolved oxygen ranged from 6.6 to 7.2 and 6.3mg/l to 8.2mg/l respectively. The treatment shows significant difference in terms of mean weight gain, specific growth rates and survival rate (P<0.05). In terms of weight gain Chivita gave the best growth of 53.21g, followed closely by Coppens 52.21g, while Aquaplus had the lowest 12.67g. SGR showed Coppens 0.89 with the best growth followed by Chivita 0.87 while Aquaplus gave the lowest 0.31. Although fish fed with Chivita and Coppens showed the best growth compared to other treatments, economically Vital feed performed well reflecting that local fed equally gave optimal growth and cost benefits