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Abstract
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different stocking densities on growth performance, feed efficiency and resistance to temperature and salinity changes of fingerling giant trevally. The fingerlings (mean length 2.4 cm and weight 0.44 g/fish) were randomly distributed into 16 fiberglass tanks (300 L/tank) at four stocking densities, including 0.5; 1.0; 1.5 and 2.0 fish/L. The giant trevally was fed commercial diets (NRD5/8, G8, INVE, Thailand) four times daily until satiation for 30 days. The results showed that the final body weight and specific growth rate of giant trevally were significantly reduced as increasing the stocking density above 1.0 fish/L. The highest growth rates were achieved in fish cultured at stocking density of 0.5 and 1.0 fish/L. The feed conversion ratio was significantly reduced as increasing the stocking density, resulting lowest feed conversion ratio at fish raised at 2.0 fish/L. Fish cultured at densities of 0.5 and 1.0 fish/L showed significantly higher re-sistance ability to temperature compared to those cultured at higher stocking densities. However, no significant difference was observed on resistance to salinity of fish at different stocking densities. Thus, the optimum stocking density for fingerling giant trevally rearing could be 1.0 fish/L to maximise growth and resistance to stresses.
Key words: Caranx ignobilis, stocking density, giant trevally, growth performance