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Culturing Crappies in Indoor Water Recirculating Aquaculture Systems
Author(s) -
Dudenhoeffer Gregory A.,
Hicks Charles E.,
Gerlach Russell,
Zhang Yongfang,
OmaraAlwala Thomas R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
north american journal of aquaculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.432
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1548-8454
pISSN - 1522-2055
DOI - 10.1080/15222055.2014.925526
Subject(s) - biology , juvenile , zoology , feed conversion ratio , significant difference , fish <actinopterygii> , aquaculture , fishery , ecology , body weight , mathematics , statistics , endocrinology
Four experiments with feed‐trained crappies Pomoxis spp. were conducted to enhance the knowledge of growing crappies as food fish. Two experiments compared growth performance of juvenile Black Crappies P. nigromaculatus and White Crappies P. annularis (1) between fish that were fed two locally available commercial feeds or (2) among fish reared at densities of 0.81, 1.62, 3.25, and 6.50 g/L. No significant difference in growth performance between species was detected. Performance was significantly affected by commercial feed, but survival and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not. An inverse relationship existed between density and growth variables except final biomass, which had a direct relationship with density; survival rate was not different among density levels. For the third experiment, Black Crappie growth in light‐blue control tanks was compared with growth in environmentally enhanced tanks (150 L) that had top cover structure (TCS), bottom dark coloring (BDC), or a combination of both. Fish growth was not different between control and enhanced tank treatments but significantly differed between the TCS and BDC treatments. In the fourth experiment, growth was compared between hybrid crappies that were fed using 12‐ and 24‐h belt feeders. Fish that were fed by use of the 12‐h belt feeders had improved FCR relative to continuous 24‐h feeding. These experiments demonstrated that crappies can be cultured successfully indoors, with no difference in early growth between species. Additionally, crappie growth could be affected by tank environment and by feeding regimen.