Abstract:

This study was conducted to determine the growth and survival of GIFT fry/fingerlings reared in a 150-liter concrete ponds with salinities of 5, 10, 15 ppt respectively. Results revealed that GIFT fry at salinity level of 15 ppt exhibited growth superiority (4.03 cm length; 5.94 g weight) followed by the fry exposed to 10 ppt salinity (3.64 cm; 5.24 g weight). Slow growth was manifested among the fry under 5 ppt salinity level (3.27 cm length; 4.61 g weight).Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant difference in both the lengths and weights of the fry. T-test results showed that the significant difference in length existed between the fry under treatments 5 ppt and 15 ppt while significant variation in weight occurred between the fry exposed to 5 ppt and 15 ppt and between 10 ppt and 15 ppt. Complete survival (100 %) was obtained at 5 ppt and only 93 % at 10 ppt and 15 ppt. However, no significant difference existed in these salinity levels at 0.05 level of significance. Results of this study indicate that the growth of GIFT is affected by the salinity of rearing water. The ideal salinity ranges from 10 ppt to 15 ppt.

KEYWORDS AND PHRASES: salinity level, genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT), Oreochromis niloticus, part per thousand (ppt).

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