Nile Tilapia “Oreochromis niloticus” Farming in Fresh and Geothermal Waters in Tunisia: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This work aims to compare the farming of Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus in fresh and geothermal waters through monitoring the specie’s zootechnical parameters: growth, mortality and feed conversion rate. For geothermal water rearing, fish was placed in cages in Bechima Station, in southern Tunisia, while Smati Reservoir, in the center of the country was used for fresh water. The spawners were first adapted to geothermal waters in Bechima experimental station. Then, the broodstock phase lasted 60 days and allowed the obtainment of 1–2 g larvae. Fertility was important and varied between 451 and 1589 larvae/female, which is associated with the females’ total weight (F = 1.6 W2.1). In the pre-growing phase, the comparison of fry growth rates (weight 1.3 g) in the geothermal and freshwaters showed a small variation with recorded rates slightly in favor of fish bred in fresh water. During 50 days within the breeding phase, fish weight achieved in freshwater was more important reaching 12.7 g (TCJ = 0.228 g /day compared to 10.51 g (TCJ = 0.184 g/day) recorded in geothermal waters. Similarly, during the fattening phase, the weights gained after 30days demonstrated better growth rates for tilapia cultured in freshwater (up to 60 g) in contrast to that bred in geothermal water (35–40 g).