Growth and Survival of Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) Fingerlings in Varying Salinity Levels

The study on the growth and survival of Bighead carp fingerlings in varying salinity levels was conducted at the College of Fisheries Laboratory and Research Station, Brgy. Bawing, General Santos City for a period of 60 days from February 15 to April 16, 2019.Twelve (12) aquaria were used for the study with a dimension of 24°x12"x15". Ten (10) Bighead carp fingerlings with an initial weight of 2p were stocked per aquarium. A Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used with four (4) treatments replicated three (3) times and labeled accordingly. The treatments used were 0, 4,6, and 8ppt for Treatments I, II, III, and IV respectively. The fish were fed commercial diets with approximate crude protein (CP) of 33%. Statistical analysis was done using the IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 2.0). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine levels of significance. The significance between treatments means were determined using Duncan Test. The biggest mean body weight was obtained in Treatment I with 8.40g followed by Treatment II with 7.93g, then by Treatment III with 7.40g and Treatment IV with 7.002. The highest mean weight was obtained by Treatment I (6.40g), followed by Treatment II (5.93g), then by Treatment III (5.40g) and Treatment IV (5.00g). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined that there is a significant difference among treatment means (P>.05). Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) showed that Treatment I was not significantly different with Treatment II but significantly different with Treatment III and IV. It also showed that Treatment II was significantly different with Treatment III and treatment IV. And Treatment III was not significantly different with Treatment IV. Fish in Treatment I obtained highest mean daily weight gain with 0.11g/day followed by Treatment II with 0.10g/day, then by Treatment III with 0,09g/day and Treatment IV with 0.08g/day. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined that there is a significant difference among treatment means (P>.05). Better feed conversion ratio was obtained by Treatment I (1.17) followed by Treatment II (1.18), then by Treatment III (1.26) and Treatment IV (1.29). ). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined that there is a significant difference among treatment means (P>.05). Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) showed that Treatment I was not significantly different with Treatment II but significantly different with Treatment III and IV. It also showed that Treatment II was significantly different with Treatment III and treatment IV. And Treatment III was not significantly different with Treatment IV. All treatments obtained 100% survival rate. Temperature readings ranged at 27.7- 30.2 °C, pH at 7.1 — 7.7, dissolved oxygen at 5-6.7 ppm and ammonia at 0.0 - 0.5 ppm. Under the condition of the study, Treatment I had the best result in terms of growth and FCR.