Université de Kara, Institut Supérieur des Métiers de l’Agriculture, Laboratoire des Sciences Agronomiques et Biologiques Appliquées, BP: 404 Kara, Togo
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of aeration on the production parameters of red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.). For this purpose, fry of average weight 5 g were stocked at a density of 30 individuals per hapa in three replicates per concrete tank of 2.5m3 capacity and subjected to four treatments T0 (control), T6, T12 and T24 which are respectively 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours of oxygen supply. The fish were fed three times a day for eight weeks with Raanan feed containing 33% crude protein. After this period, the fish were fasted for two days and then six fish from each batch were dissected to assess the effect of aeration on digestive transit. At the end of the trial, the results obtained show that the survival rate was generally around 97% for all batches. The best zootechnical performances were observed in fish of lots T12 and T24 (Feed conversion rate (FCR) = 2.04 and 1.95; Specific growth rate (SGR) = 3.97 and 4.02%/d). In addition, transit was slower in the digestive tract compartments of fish in these two treatments.