GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF NILE TILAPIA (Oreochromis niloticus L.) SUBJECTED TO DELAYED STOCKING AND FEEDING

This study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of Nile tilapia O. niloticus subjected to delayed stocking and feeding during first feeding stage. This study consisted of two phases. Phase I focused on the early stage growth during nursery period (1m3 fine-mesh hapa) and Phase II on the late stage growth in B-net cage (2m x 2m x 1m) and earthen pond of approximately 200 m2. The delay in stocking and feeding result in decrease in weight although the length continued to increase. Analysis of variance revealed significant difference in initial weight (P<0.01) and length (P<0.001) among the treatments. After 43 days of nursery, fish in T1 attained the largest mean weight of 2.10 g while T3 showed the lowest at 1.74g. T5 had the highest mean percent survival with 99.74 % while T3 had the lowest at 98.83%. No significant differences were observed on the weight and survival of fry (P>0.05). Analysis of variance on the final weight and length of the fish in cage and pond showed some contrasting results. In cage culture, no significant difference was observed on final weight and length (P>0.05) of fish while in pond culture, gain weight and length (P<0.001) were significantly different. However, no apparent similarity on the growth pattern of the five treatments in both culture environment. Similarly, the percent survival of the five treatments in cage was not significantly different (P>0.05) and no apparent large discrepancy of the mean percent survival in pond. No significant difference on the mean percent dressed out weight and percent fillet weight of the five treatments in cage (P>0.05) were observed. The results of the study indicate that the delay of stocking and provision of first exogenous food has no harmful effect on the late stage growth and survival of the fish