Evaluation of different diets on the growth of normal and monosex GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in Bangladesh

A 4-month feeding trial was conducted in ponds to evaluate the different diets for the culture of normal and monosex GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Twelve experimental ponds each of 80 m2 were divided into three treatments. Normal and monosex GIFT tilapia were assigned to each treatment in duplicate. Saudi Bangla tilapia feed, mixed feed and no feed but fertilization were considered as Ti, T2 and T3 respectively. The stocking density was 125 fingerlings/decimal. After four months of rearing Ti showed significantly (P<0.05) higher mean final weight of 148.25±2.73 g and 197.20±3.62 g for normal and monosex GIFT" tilapia respectively than those of T2 and T3. Among the treatments, Ti also resulted in significantly (P<0.05) higher specific growth rate than T2 and T3. However, there was no significant difference in survival rate and food conversion ratio between Ti and T2 but in case of T3 the survival rate was significantly (P