Conditions for high growth rates of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fry in Western Kenya

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of various temperatures on growth of 17 alpha Methyl Testosterone treated Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fry in Western Kenya. Nile tilapia larvae of Lake Victoria strain which had just hatched were subjected to different temperatures and Hormone concentrations in 40L aquariums in a 4 x 3 x 3 factorial experiment set up in a complete randomized design. The fry were fed on 10% body weight rations over a period of (28, 34 or 40 days) at 0800 hours, 1100 hours, 1400 hours and 1700 hours with equal amounts of the MT treated feeds. This paper reports an increase in growth of fry with increasing temperature (p<0.05) whereas MT concentration did not affect growth (p>0.05). The study showed that 60 mg MT/kg feed for 28 days at 30 0C are the optimal conditions for growth of Oreochromis niloticus fry grown by hatchery farmers in western Kenya.