Effects of frequency of eggs and fry harvest on seed production and growth of Nile tilapia

Abstract

This study analyzed the potential of harvesting eggs and fry at different time intervals for improved seed production of Nile tilapia. Broodstock were put in 3x1m2 hapas at a sex ratio of 3 females: 1male. Eggs and fry were harvested at intervals of 8 days, 10 days, 12 days and 14 days respectively. The results showed a direct positive relationship between the harvesting frequencies and total seed production, where Broodfish in the 14 days treatment produced the highest total seed output (13979 ± 314) followed by 12 days (10167 ± 248), 10 days (6645 ± 135) and 8 days (4509 ± 112) respectively. The 8 days harvesting frequency consistently recorded zero swim up fry throughout the study while the 10 days treatment yielded the highest egg counts of 4272 ± 127. The specific growth rates and condition factors of females did not significantly differ among all the treatments.