Effect of Temperature on Growth, Feed Utilization, and Immune Status of Channel Catfish in a Recirculating System

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted to determine growth, survival, feed utilization, nonspecific immune response, and proximate and fatty acid composition of the fillet of stocker-sized channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus reared at temperatures considered slightly below optimal (228C), optimal (278C), or slightly above optimal (328C) for feed intake and growth of this species. Groups of 100 stockers initially averaging 111.4 6 1.7 g (mean 6 SE) were stocked into each of four 1,140-L tanks within each of three independent recirculating systems and were fed a 32% protein commercial floating pellet once daily to satiation for 14 weeks. Feed intake was calculated weekly. Subsamples of fish were weighed every 3 weeks to track growth. At the end of the trial, all fish were counted and weighed. Five fish per tank were bled to analyze hematology and immunological parameters. Analysis of variance and Fisher's least-significantdifference tests were used to compare differences among treatment means (P 0.05). Weight gain (252.2 6 20.0 g) was highest and feed conversion ratio (1.3 6 0.0) was lowest in fish held at 278C, while survival (99 6 0.4%) was highest in fish held at 328C. Feed intake did not differ by temperature. When differences in final body weight were considered, the protein, dry matter, and ash in the fillet did not differ by temperature. Both temperature and final body weight affected fillet lipid. Fish reared at 328C were smaller but had more fillet lipid than fish reared at 278C. Hepatosomatic index did not differ by temperature. Monounsaturates in muscle lipid declined with temperature, while total n-6 highly unsaturated fatty acids and the index of fatty acid unsaturation were higher in fish held at 228C than in those held at 328C. Alternative complement activity was highest in fish held at 228C, while lysozyme activity was highest at 328C. Temperature had numerous effects on fish performance when diet was fixed. These effects must be considered when diet composition is manipulated to enhance channel catfish performance at different temperatures.

Rising Temperature Effects on Growth and Gastric Emptying Time of Freshwater African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus) Fingerlings

“…At higher temperatures, the GET became shorter as there was an increase in fish digestive enzyme activity [ 35 , 36 ]. This finding also complements the assertion made by Suja et al [ 37 ], whereby rapid digestion rate coincides with FCE. The time taken for African catfish to completely remove food items from the digestive tract was relatively different compared to other tropical fish species [ 8 , 10 , 23 ].…”

Relationship between water physico-chemical parameters and growth of <i>Brycinus macrolepidotus</i> (Valenciennes, 1850) in Akomoje water reservoir, Ogun State, Nigeria

“…However, strong negative correlation between temperature and fish growth obtained especially in January and February did not follow the documented relationship between growth and temperature. This finding also corroborated the findings of Suja et al (2009). Reasons for this negative correlation though not clear but could be due to other factors affecting fish growth such as reproduction and population density.…”

Growth, condition factor, and survival of juvenile channel (Ictalurus punctatus), blue (I. furcatus), and hybrid (I. punctatus × I. furcatus) catfish at moderate and high temperatures

“…Similarly, Arnold et al (2013) found fingerling channel catfish had greater weight gain within 27-31 C compared with 23-27 C and 31-35 C in tanks. McCauley and Beitinger (1992) found channel catfish growth was highest within 27-30 C, while Suja et al (2009) and Buentello et al (2000) found channel catfish growth in tanks was highest at 27 and 28 C, respectively. In this study, elevated water temperatures resulted in an average decrease in final weight by 16.22 g (7.6%) averaged over all three fish types.…”