A growth comparison among three commercial tilapia species in a biofloc system

Despite a worldwide boom in tilapia aquaculture, South Africa has failed to follow suit, resulting in a small, very much undeveloped local industry. Much of the justification for this reality lies on the inadequacy of the species used and the stringent legislation preventing the use of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. With momentum gained in recent years, the local industry lobbying for the legalization of the O. niloticus has made great progress and its use in certain systems has recently been facilitated. This study was conducted to compare the growth performance between the indigenous Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, another African alternative gaining momentum in Zambia, the Three Spot tilapia, Oreochromis andersonii, and the globally reputable O. niloticus. The study was conducted in a biofloc technology (BFT) system, showing great potential as an environmentally friendly technology. The trial was run for 10 weeks with 60 fish/tank stocked into four repeats tanks per species. Fish were sampled on six occasions with a regression fitted to the mass data. Oreochromis niloticus showed a significantly higher growth rate with an average daily gain of 0.693 +/- 0.018 g/day and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.01 +/- 0.05, followed by O. mossambicus with average daily gain of 0.405 +/- 0.025 g/day and FCR of 2.24 +/- 0.16, and then O. andersonii with an average daily gain of 0.185 +/- 0.025 g/day and an FCR of 2.53 +/- 0.28, respectively. From this study, O. niloticus therefore appears to be the most adequate species for use in BFT systems in South Africa.