PHENOTYPIC AND GENETIC PARAMETERS FOR REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS, GROWTH AND SURVIVAL IN AFRICAN CATFISH (CLARIAS GARIEPINUS) UNDER CONTROLLED HATCHERY CONDITIONS

Abstract

This study presents estimates of phenotypic and genetic parameters for fertility, hatchability and weight gain, Specific growth rate and survival in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) under controlled hatchery conditions for two generations. Parents of each generation were stocked and separated in ponds by sex and fed 32% protein diet. For the analysis, 2400 fully pedigreed experimental fish from G0, G1 and G2 were used. Generations were discrete and therefore parameters were estimated separately for each year. The heritability estimates for fertility (0.1) and hatchability (0.1) traits were generally low while that of weight gain, specific growth rate, survival were higher (0.3), (0.5) and (0.5) respectively. The phenotypic correlations between fertility and hatchability, fertility and survival, hatchability and survival, weight gain and specific growth rate, were 0.997, 0.830, 0.869 and 0.991, respectively. While, genetic correlations between fertility and hatchability, fertility and survival, hatchability and survival, weight gain and specific growth rate, were 0.748, 0.623, 0.651 and 0.743, respectively. Results shows that there was a positive phenotypic and genetic correlation between fertility and hatchability, fertility and survival, hatchability and survival, weight gain and specific growth rate which allowed indirect selection of these traits to improve in reproduction, growth and survival in C. gariepinus