The Influence of Various Feeding and Pond Fertilization Strategies on Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) Production and the Selectivity for Natural Versus Supplementary Diet in Semi‐Intensive Aquaculture Systems
ABSTRACT High feed costs constrain tilapia production, making exploring low‐cost feeding strategies important. We assessed the growth of tilapia over a period of 6 months, fed 1%, 2%, or 4% of body mass day−1 with and without fertilization in 18 liner ponds stocked with fingerlings (5.1 ± 0.71 g). G...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aff2.70031 |
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| Summary: | ABSTRACT High feed costs constrain tilapia production, making exploring low‐cost feeding strategies important. We assessed the growth of tilapia over a period of 6 months, fed 1%, 2%, or 4% of body mass day−1 with and without fertilization in 18 liner ponds stocked with fingerlings (5.1 ± 0.71 g). Growth was significantly better in fertilized ponds than in unfertilized ponds. The best growth (320.7 ± 8.5 g) was in fertilized ponds where fish were fed 2%, achieving a 45% larger weight gain than in the group fed 4% in unfertilized ponds. These results show that with fertilization, the feeding can be reduced by half while still having better growth than in unfertilized ponds. In fertilized ponds fed 4%, the minimum nocturnal oxygen levels may have limited growth of the fish and, as a result, their final weight (180.1 ± 6.6 g) was lower than in groups fed 2% in fertilized ponds and 4% in unfertilized ponds. Fish up to 60–90 g rely mainly on zooplankton as a source of food, while fish of sizes ≥100 g rely mainly on supplementary feed. Analysis of the gut content of fish of different sizes suggested that tilapia up to 60–90 g do not consume the feed presented which instead ends up as an expensive form of fertilizer. The best economic return was in ponds that were fertilized and fed 2%. It is concluded that feed‐use and production costs may be reduced even further by fertilizing the ponds and restricting or omitting feeding of fish < 100 g and only commence feeding when the fish have reached around 100 g. The results of the finding have a wider applicability in developing countries where pond culture of tilapia is common. |
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| ISSN: | 2693-8847 |