Vol. 12, Special Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Sagar Gorakh Satkar, Omanakuttan Nibin, Sooraj Suresh Nediyirippil, Gijo Ittoop, Vadavanath Prabhakaran Vineetha and Pillai Devika

Abstract:
Nile tilapia is successfully farmed in a wide range of environmental conditions using different culture systems and is an important aquaculture fish species in many parts of the world. The objective of this study was to compare the growth, hematological, serological and antioxidant status of Nile tilapia grown in different culture systems such as earthen pond (control), biofloc (BF), aquaponics (AP), and polythene lined (PL) ponds. Fish samples were collected from ten sites for each culture system. No significant difference between the growth in different culture systems, although Feed consumption ratio was higher in PL ponds. Among the haematological parameters studied, the fish cultured in BF and PL ponds showed significantly high (p<0.05) White Blood Cell (WBC) values. Red Blood Cell (RBC) and hematocrit were high in fish reared in PL ponds, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly higher in fish reared in biofloc. Serum parameters showed significantly less glucose level in AP compared all the other groups. Antioxidant enzymes were significantly higher (p<0.05) in fish reared in BF and AP compared to control. The study revealed that most of the health indices used in the study gave better values for fishes grown in biofloc and aquaponics. Biofloc and aquaponics system with stocking density and production per unit area almost 20 and 15 times higher than the earthen ponds respectively, provides better health status to the fish, thus reducing chances of disease outbreaks in these systems, if well managed.