Strain-Based Comparison of Red Tilapia and Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia: Growth, Fillet and Nutritional Attributes
Antony Heniton
Department of Aquaculture, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Thootukudi - 628 008, Tamil Nadu, India.
Stephen Sampath Kumar
Directorate of Sustainable Aquaculture, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Nagapattinam - 611 002, Tamil Nadu, India.
Samraj Anand
Erode Bhavanisagar Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Bhavanisagar, Erode ‒ 638 451, Tamil Nadu, India.
Daniel Naganathan
Kanyakumari Parakkai Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Parakkai, Kanyakumari ‒ 629 601, Tamil Nadu, India.
Raghu Tamilmani
Department of Biotechnology, Priest University, Thanjavur ‒ 613 403, Tamil Nadu, India.
Somu Sunder Lingam
Krishnagiri Barur Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture, Tamil Nadu Dr. J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Barur, Krishnagiri ‒ 635 201, Tamil Nadu, India.
Manikandan Boominathan *
Department of Fisheries Extension Economics and Statistics, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Thootukudi - 628 008, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Tilapia, a fast-growing species from the Cichlidae family is often termed as ‘aquatic chicken’. This study was to evaluate the growth performance using growth metrics like specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER), carcass characteristics and nutritional quality of Red tilapia and Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) strains reared under pond conditions. The study was conducted for 180 days. Advanced mono-sex fingerlings of both strains were subjected to 17-methyl testosterone treatment. They were reared in nursery hapas for 60 days before being stocked in polyethylene-lined earthen ponds using completely randomized design with two treatments in duplicate. Fish were fed with commercial floating pellets while monitoring standard water quality parameters. Carcass traits were evaluated and the proximate composition was determined using Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods. For statistical analysis, independent t-test was performed using SPSS software with significance at P<0.05. GIFT strain demonstrated markedly enhanced performance characterized by significantly elevated final biomass, superior specific growth rate (SGR) and improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) indicative of its advanced genetic merit for accelerated somatic growth and optimized nutrient assimilation. The volume of production was found to be higher in GIFT compared to red strain. Additionally, it exhibited superior carcass traits with favourable flesh-to-bone ratio and increased fillet yield. In case of nutritional composition, red tilapia displayed better results compared to GIFT strain.
Keywords: Tilapia strains, growth performance, carcass yield, fillet quality, nutritional composition