Growth performances, body composition, and blood variables of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juveniles grown in a recirculating aquaculture system under different water salinity levels

ABSTRACT

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) can tolerate brackish water conditions besides their ability to grow under intensive farming systems. This study tested the growth performance, body composition, and blood variables of Nile tilapia juveniles cultivated in RAS with brackish water. Fish were allocated in 16 plastic tanks (1000 L) at 200 fish per tank with an average weight of 14.34 ± 0.47 g/fish, subdivided into four groups where each group was replicated in four tanks. Nile tilapia juveniles in the four groups were kept at different levels of salinities (0, 5, 10, and 15 ppt). After 70 days, the growth performance and feed efficiency ratio were significantly lower in Nile tilapia grown at 15 ppt than those reared at 0, 5, and 10 ppt (P < .05). The Nile tilapia reared at 15 ppt had significantly lower total protein and lipid contents in the carcass than those reared at 0, 5, and 10 ppt (P < .05). The glucose content was higher while the protein profile was lower in fish reared at 15 ppt than those reared at 0, 5, and 10 ppt (P < .05). The superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase were higher while the malondialdehyde level was lower in fish reared at 15 ppt than those reared at 0, 5, and 10 ppt (P < .05). The results indicated that brackish water (5 –10 ppt) is suitable for farming Nile tilapia under RAS conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Aquaculture
• brackish water
• low waer usage
• productivity
• sustaibnability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Consent for publication

All authors review and approve the manuscript for publication.

Ethics approval

The investigation conforms with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt.

Authorship

Conceptualization, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Hani Sewilam; Investigation, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Muziri Mugwanya, Fahad Kimera, Hani Sewilam; Project administration, Hani Sewilam, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood; Formal analysis, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Khaled Madkour; Writing – original draft, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Khaled Madkour, Muziri Mugwanya, Fahad Kimera, Hani Sewilam; Revising and editing Mahmoud A.O. Dawood, Khaled Madkour.

Additional information

Funding

This work received no funding.