Comparative evaluation of growth performance of Clarias gariepinus juvenile reared in solar-powered aquatronics and conventional aquaculture systems

Abstract

A research was conducted to compare growth performance of Clarias gariepinus juvenile (50.14g) reared under Aquatronics system (Auto-feeding-auto-water recycling) and Conventional (manual-feeding-manual-water-recycling system). The results obtained showed significant difference (P<0.05)for the two systems. The mean weight gained for the aquatronics system was significantly (p<0.05) higher (157.81 g) than the conventional system (101.83 g), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were also significantly different (p<0.05) as automated system gave a significantly high SGR and low FCR values (2.53%/day & 2.56) than manually operated system (1.97%/day & 3.66) respectively. Furthermore, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in some of the water quality parameters monitored where alkalinity and conductivity values were significantly high (p<0.05) for the automated system. Thus, the aquatronics (automated aquaculture system) is more productive than the conventional (manually operated) aquaculture system.