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Comparative performance of mixed-sex and hormonal-sex-reversed Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and hybrids (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis urolepis hornorum) cultured in concrete tanks

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Abstract

Uncontrolled breeding and precocious maturity in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus can be avoided by using all-male population. This study compared the growth performance, survival rate, condition factor and final fish tank biomass (yield) of mixed-sex and hormonal-sex-reversed O. niloticus and hybrids (O. niloticus × O. urolepis hornorum) cultured in tanks. Sex-reversed males were produced by feeding newly hatched fry with a diet containing 60 mg of 17α-methyltestosterone for 28 days. Fourteen O. niloticus with initial mean weight (±standard error) of 0.50 ± 0.04, 0.48 ± 0.06 and 0.46 ± 0.01 g for mixed-sex, sex-reversed and hybrids, respectively, were separately stocked in triplicate tanks at a density of two fish m−2 and fed a 300 g kg−1 crude protein diet for 12 weeks. Results showed that hybrids had significantly higher final mean weight (31.41 ± 0.33 g) than hormonal-sex-reversed (25.82 ± 1.51 g) and mixed-sex O. niloticus (19.50 ± 1.26 g; p < 0.05). Similarly, sex-reversed O. niloticus had significantly higher final mean weight than mixed-sex (p < 0.05). The condition factor of hybrids (1.71 ± 0.05) was significantly higher than that of sex-reversed (1.46 ± 0.01; p = 0.001) and mixed-sex O. niloticus (1.43 ± 0.01; p = 0.001). Survival rate was not significantly different among treatments (p = 0.445). The final fish tank biomass was significantly higher in hybrids (535.24 ± 31.67 g tank−1) and hormonal-sex-reversed (486.52 ± 33.70 g tank−1) than mixed-sex O. niloticus (330.05 ± 17.08 g tank−1; p < 0.05). This study demonstrates that hybrids have superior growth performance and condition factor than sex-reversed and mixed-sex but have similar yields to hormonal-sex-reversed O. niloticus. These results suggest that O. niloticus farmers can improve growth rate and yield by rearing hybrids without affecting survival rate.

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere thanks to the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) for the financial support provided through the program for Enhancing Pro-poor Innovation in Natural Resources and Agricultural Value Chains (EPINAV) at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). We are grateful to Prof. Ian Mayer of the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH), Norway, for generously providing 17α-methyltestosterone. The Fisheries Education and Training Agency (FETA), the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and SUA are acknowledged for granting permission for researchers to participate in the study. SUA is also acknowledged for provision of research facilities. We acknowledge the assistance provided by Mr. Evantuce Shirima during data collection. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions improved greatly our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries Education and Training Agency (FETA), Mwanza, P. O. Box 1213, Mwanza, Tanzania

    Moses Mbiru

  2. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries, University of Dar es Salaam, P. O. Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Samwel Mchele Limbu & Rashid Tamatamah

  3. Department of Animal Science and Production, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3004, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Sebastian W. Chenyambuga, Hieromin Amon Lamtane, Nazael Amos Madalla & Augustine Warioba Mwandya

  4. Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Aquaculture Nutrition and Environmental Health, East China Normal University, 500 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai, 200241, China

    Samwel Mchele Limbu

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  1. Moses Mbiru
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Correspondence to Samwel Mchele Limbu.

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Mbiru, M., Limbu, S.M., Chenyambuga, S.W. et al. Comparative performance of mixed-sex and hormonal-sex-reversed Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and hybrids (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis urolepis hornorum) cultured in concrete tanks. Aquacult Int 24, 557–566 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-015-9946-z

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