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¹ Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, P.O. Box 2123, Yaounde, Cameroon
² Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta P.O. Box 2240, Ogun State, Nigeria
³ Hydrobiology and Environment, Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon DOI : 10.4194/AQUAST2939 Viewed : 151 - Downloaded : 160 Growth performance, nutrient utilization and cost-effectiveness of Oreochromis niloticus reared under three production treatments: Open pond (OP), Hapas placed at inlet (Hapas-Inlet) and Hapas placed at outlet (Hapas-Outlet) were investigated. The study was conducted in three earthen ponds (500 m2) and six hapas (3 m3) installed in an earthen pond (500 m2). Fingerlings with initial mean weight of 5.60±0.91 g were stocked in triplicate in the open-ponds and hapas-in-ponds at a stocking density of 2 fingerlings/m2 and 100/m3 respectively. Fish were fed thrice a day with an extruded diet and reared for five months. Final mean weight of fish reared in Hapas-Inlet (212.81±0.34 g) was significantly higher than those in OP (203.57±22.30 g) and Hapas-Outlet (89.41±1.08 g). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lowest in Hapas-Inlet (0.80±0.00) when compared to OP (1.54±0.01) and Hapas-Outlet (2.14±0.23). Cost-effectiveness analysis revealed that Hapas-Inlet produced the highest income (255 600 FCFA) and the lowest Incidence cost (982.32 FCFA) when compared to the other two treatments. These results imply that placing hapas at the inlet improved water quality, which in turn enhanced fish growth, reduced FCR, and consequently increased net fish yield. Keywords : Nile Tilapia Growth Nutrient Utilization Yield Open-Pond Hapas-in-Pond