Effect of Stocking Density under 10‰ Salinity on Production Performance and Chemical Composition of Monosex Tilapia Fingerlings (Oreochromis niloticus × O. aureus)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of stocking density on growth performance, survival rates, feed conversion efficiency and body chemical composition of the Monosex tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis niloticus × O. aureus) cultured under low salinity (10‰).

The experiment lasted 73 days, during which fingerlings were randomly assigned to three treatments with three replicates: low density D1 (143 fish/m³), medium density D2 (286 fish/m³), and high density D3 (571 fish/m³). The fish were fed twice daily at a rate of
 4–5% of their body weight.

The results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) among treatments in daily growth rate and feed conversion ratio. The highest numerical daily gain was recorded for
 D2 (0.199 g/day), while D1 and D2 did not differ significantly (P > 0.05); both were significantly higher than D3 (0.073 g/day). The best feed conversion ratio was observed in D1 (1.15), followed by D2 (1.31), with D3 recording the poorest value (3.10). Protein and lipid contents were lower in D3 compared to D1, while ash content was higher. Survival rates reached 100% in D1 and D2, but only 90% in D3. The study recommends that low density be adopted (143 fish/m³) as the optimal stocking density for culturing monosex tilapia fingerlings at a salinity of 10‰. To confirm these results, field trials are needed.