Lake-Based Nursery Rearing of Nile Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus) Fingerlings in Nylon Hapas: Effects of Stocking Density on Growth, Survival and Profitability

Abstract

The inadequate supply of tilapia fingerling is a major limitation to cage culture development in Ghana. Lake-based hapa systems are very efficient in nursing fingerlings although the process can be tricky due to inherent effects of stocking densities and environmental factors. This study aimed at assessing the growth, survival and profitability of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings of the Akosombo strain reared in nine 1 m3 Lake-based hapas at different densities. Each hapa was stocked with 2.12 ± 0.14 g sex-reversed tilapia fingerlings at varying stocking densities of 400 fish/m3, 800 fish/m3 and 1200 fish/m3 serving as treatments T1, T2 and T3 respectively. Each treatment was replicated thrice. Bi-weekly samplings were done and water quality parameters were measured. After the experiment, analysis of variance showed significant differences (p