Laboratoire d’Environnement et de Biologie Aquatique (LEBA), UFR des Sciences et Gestion de l’Environnement, Université NANGUI ABROGOUA, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
In response to the lack of fast-growing fry, Côte d’Ivoire introduced an improved strain of Oreochromis niloticus from Brazil. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the zootechnical performance of this strain before its dissemination in the farming environment, in comparison with the local strain. To do so, fingerlings with an average weight of 45.45 ± 5.1 g for the « Bouaké » strain and 50.05 ± 0.28 g for the « Brazil » strain were stocked in 175 m2 ponds at a density of 2.2 fry per m2. They were fed three different feeds (Imported Industrial Feed (A2I), Local Industrial Feed (AIL) and Local Feed (AL)) for 150 days. Although there was no significant difference between the strains, the survival rates, which ranged from 97.67 ± 0.80 to 100%, were numerically higher for the Bouaké strain than for the Brazil strain. The daily growth rates of the « Brazil » and « Bouaké » strains were respectively 3.18 and 2.20 g with A2I, 2.24 and 1.89 g with AIL, and 1.67 and 1.15 g with AL. Feed conversion ratio of the «Brazil» and «Bouaké» strains were 2.87 and 3.20 respectively with A2I, 3.57 and 3.88 with AIL, and 4.05 and 4.27 with AL. The yields obtained for the « Brazil » and « Bouaké » strains were 230.38 and 176.21 Kg/a/yr with A2I, 164.07 and 135.72 Kg/a/yr with AIL, and 124.78 and 95.06 Kg/a/yr with AL, respectively. The growth of the « Brazil » strain is higher than that of « Bouaké » by 23 to 45%. The « Brazil » strain showed better growth performance and productivity compared to the « Bouake » strain regardless of the feed used.