Influence of periphyton substrate density on hydrobiological characteristics and growth performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) stocked in inland saline groundwater ponds

Abstract

To investigate the optimum density of additional substrate required for obtaining higher growth of Oreochromis niloticus in brackish water ponds (salnity: 14~16 ppt, temperature: 27.4 ~ 32.3 oC), three different densities of bamboo poles (at 375, 560 and 750 per pond of 375-2 meters) each in replicate of two were maintained. Fish fry (mean body weight 0.94-0.96g) were stocked in ponds at 10000 fish ha-1. During the experimental period, all the water quality parameters remained within the optimum range. After a grow-out period of 100 days, a significant (P