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International Journal of Aquaculture, 2014, Vol.4, No.02,
http://ija.sophiapublisher.com
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Research Article Open Access
The Performance of Rotifer
Brachionus plicatilis
(Müller 1786) and Chicken Egg
Yolk on the Larval Rearing of African Catfish,
Clarias gariepinus
(Burchell 1822)
in Hatchery
G.W. Ngupula , M. Musiba
Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), PO Box 475, Mwanza, Tanzania
Corresponding author email:
ngupula@yahoo.co.uk
;
Authors
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2014, Vol.4, No.02 doi: 10.5376/ija.2014.04.0002
Received: 31 Oct., 2013
Accepted: 18 Dec., 2013
Published: 10 Jan., 2014
Copyright © 2014
Ngupula and Musiba, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Ngupula and Musiba, 2014, The Performance of Rotifer
Brachionus plicatilis
(Müller 1786) and Chicken Egg Yolk on the Larval Rearing of African Catfish,
Clarias gariepinus
(Burchell 1822) in Hatchery, International Journal of Aquaculture, Vol.4, No.02 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2014.04.0002)
Abstract
The possibility of utilizing rotifer
Brachionus plicatilis
(Müller, 1786), broiler chicken egg yolk, and a mixture of the two
as starter feeds in the larval rearing of African catfish (
Clarias gariepinus,
Burchell, 1822) was explored. Larvae of four days
following commencement of exogenous feeding were used for the purpose. The experiment lasted for 15 days under ambient
hatchery conditions in a set of nine tanks of 900 litres capacity randomly allocated. The experiment was carried out in two phases.
In the end of each phase, the larvae from each set of tanks were counted and from each feed treatment 30 larvae were randomly
chosen and measured their weights and lengths for the estimation of average weight and length. The average lengths of the larvae
from each phase and each feed treatment were used for the estimation of growth rates, survival %, specific growth rate (SGR), and
conditional factor (CF). During the 1
st
phase, the larvae fed with rotifers indicated the highest survival (98%) with poorest growth
rate (25.76%/day). During the 2
nd
phase (weaning period), the larvae fed with rotifers indicated the poorest survival (54%) while
those fed with egg yolk indicated the highest growth (weight and length of 19.85±3.66mg and 12.13±0.60mm, respectively) and
survival of 61%. The findings imply that rotifers are too small for the rearing of African catfish larvae, thus unsuitable. Chicken egg
yolk can successfully be used as a substitute of live diet for rearing of African catfish larvae if need arises
.
Keywords
Brachionus plicatilis
; Feed; African Catfish; Growth rate; Survival; Weaning; Weight
Introduction
Nile tilapia
Oreochromis niloticus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
and African catfish
Clarias gariepinus
(Burchell, 1822)
are the most important farmed fish species as regards
to African fresh water aquaculture (El-Sayed, 2005;
Olurin and Oluwo, 2010; Khalill et al., 2011; Olurin et
al., 2012). The reasons behind the choices are mainly
fast growth rate, high tolerance to poor water quality,
ability to utilize variety of diets, and ease of breeding
in captivity (Olirin and Oluwo. 2010; Olurin et al
.,
2012). As regards to breeding, the rearing of
C.
gariepinus
larvae to juveniles has proved as an
important challenge because of their small size and
lack of functional digestive system at commencement
of their exogenous feeding (mouth opening) period
(Govoni et al., 1986; Olurin et al., 2012). Thus,
making them incapable of accepting large sized feeds
and assimilating protein from dry formulated diets
(Govoni et al., 1986; Zambonino Infante and Cahu,
2001). Due to this fact, it has been found important to
provide the larvae with live feeds like Artemia,
zooplankton (such as cladocerans and rotifers) or
algae first before they are sequentially acclimatized to
accepting formulated diets (Olurin and Oluwo, 2010;
Khalill et al., 2011; Olurin et al., 2012). Provision of
live feeds to fish larvae is appreciated as important
because they supply nutrients to the larvae and as well
exogenous enzymes important for the digestion of
other feeds, and enhance the development of larvae’s
pancreas (Rønnestad et al., 1999; Lubzen et al., 2001).
Globally, rotifers, especially of the species
Brachionus
plicatilis
Müller, 1786
and
Brachionus rotundiformis
Tschugunoff, 1921 have been used for years second to
Artemia for the rearing of marine fish larvae (Boehm
et al., 2000; Lubzen et al., 2001; Olivotto et al., 2010).
The reasons behind their use include their tolerance to
wide range of environmental conditions, high
reproductive efficient (both sexual and asexual), easy
of manipulation to suit certain nutrition requirements,
slow mobility, small size, and colour (Theilacker and
McMaster, 1971; Fukusho, 1989; Lubzen et al., 2001).