Effect of carbon sources and water requirement in rearing of genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fry in biofloc system

Abstract

A 90 days experiment with completely randomized design was carried out to evaluate the effect of different carbon sources on biomass production and water volume requirement in rearing of GIFT tilapia fry in biofloc system. Seven treatments viz, sugar cane molasses (T1), sugar (T2), jaggery (T3), wheat flour (T4), wheat bran (T5), rice bran (T6) and control (T0) were used. Tilapia fry (initial biomass 14.27± 0.07g) were stocked in 110L capacity FRP tanks. Results showed that all the water quality parameters were within the acceptable range for tilapia fry rearing. A significantly higher biomass was found in T6, but not significantly different from T1 and T2 after 90 days. At the end of experiment, a significantly lower water volume requirement was recorded in T6. Therefore, it is suggested that rice bran can be a better source of carbon for rearing of GIFT tilapia fry in biofloc system.