Effect of Stocking Density on Growth Performance, Survival and Production of Silver Pompano, Trachinotus blochii, (Lacépède, 1801) in Marine Floating Cages

The effect of stocking density on growth performance, survival and production of silver pompano, Trachinotus blochii, (Lacépède, 1801) were evaluated in marine floating cages. Juvenile silver pompano (12.4±4.24 g – 15.65±0.35 g) were stocked into HDPE cages measuring 4 m x 4 m x 3 m. Three treatments with two replicates were used: T1-25 pcs.m^-3; T2-30 pcs.m^-3; and T3-35 pcs.m^-3. Silver pompano were fed twice daily with commercial pellets (48% to 44% protein) at 10%, 8%,6% and 4% body weight for the first, second, third and fourth month, respectively. After 120 days, the best growth performances (determined in terms of average weight) were recorded in T1 (368.29 g) and T2 (368.0 g) while T3 (304.0 g) recorded the least growth. Production differed significantly among treatments (P 0.05). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.67, 1.58 and 1.85 in T1, T2 and T3, respectively were not significantly different (P 0.05). Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) ranged from 54.08% to 63.51%. Survival was significantly different among treatments (P 0.01). Highest survival (100%) was attained in T1 with lower stocking density, followed by T2 (99%) and T3 (95%). Survival was greatly influenced by the stocking densities in all treatments. Production of silver pompano in marine floating cages was found to be technically and economically feasible.