Comparative Study of Growth Performance of Heterobranchus Longifilis (Valenciennes, 1840), Reared With Two Organic Fertilizers in Earthen Ponds

The performance of Heterobranchus longifilis reared in earthen ponds fertilized with two organic fertilizers (meadow grasses and chicken droppings) was investigated. The study was carried out in 6 earthen ponds measuring 24.9 square meters each at Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) fish farm Ijoyi-Badore Lagos. Results obtained showed better food conversion ratio value in treatment 1 (1.28 ± 0. 11) fertilized with meadow grasses and chicken droppings in combination with commercial extruded feed than in treatment 2 (1.72 ± 0.32) fertilized with only chicken droppings in combination with commercial extruded feed. The total weight gain were 665.39 ± 22.05Kg and 623.93 ±40.64kg respectively for treatment 1 and 2 while the daily growth rate was 4.01 ± 0.13g and 3.76 ± 0.24g for treatment 1 and 2 respectively. H. longifilis in treatment 1 performed better than treatment 2 probably due to the efficiency of the organic fertilizers in treatment 1 than treatment 2. Fertilizer used in treatment 1 could be used in fish ponds to reduce cost of pond fish production. Keywords: Heterobranchus longifilis; Growth performance; Organic manure; Fertilizer; Feed