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Abstract
A study was conducted to examine growth and feed conversion ratios (FCRs) of pond-raised hybrid catfish (Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus×Blue Catfish I. furcatus) harvested at different sizes. Fingerling hybrid catfish (initial weight per fish, mean±SD = 62±2.0 g) were stocked into 25 earthen ponds (0.04 ha each) at a density of 14,826 fish/ha. Fish were fed daily to apparent satiation with a commercial 28% protein feed. When fish reached a predetermined weight (0.454, 0.680, 0.907, 1.361, or 1.814 kg/fish), they were harvested. Fish grown to 0.46 kg and 0.70 kg during the first season had FCRs of 1.61 and 1.59, respectively. Fish carried over for a second season of growth were harvested at mean weights of 0.85, 1.43, and 2.01 kg/fish, respectively. The FCRs of these fish, 1.97, 2.10, and 1.93, respectively, were significantly higher than those of fish harvested in first season. These results suggest it is generally more cost effective to harvest food-size hybrid catfish after one season because of their increased FCR the following year. However, if fish are raised to be marketed for large fillets, hybrid catfish appear to be a good choice because they continue to grow and utilize feed relatively well in a second season.
Received December 16, 2013; accepted March 30, 2014
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Charles Manning and crew at the Delta Western Research Center for daily management of the experiment. This manuscript is approved for publication as Journal Article No. J-12467 of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), Mississippi State University. This project is supported under MAFES Project Number MIS-371590.