Effects of different water depths for aquaculture production of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus juvenile

Information on the effects of water depth to the aquatic animal is lacking especially on the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the influence of different water depth on the survival and growth rate of C. gariepinus juvenile. Fifteen day old juvenile were stocked at 9 tails /cm² in six aquarium designs with different water depth (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 cm). Total bottom area of aquarium is 2700 cm² and each aquarium has 300 tails of C. gariepinus juvenile. The highest survival rate and growth rate over 15 days was recorded at the 20 cm water depth. The results indicate that the 20 cm water depth is suitable for used in C. gariepinus juvenile rearing in order to obtain the high production at best survival and growth rates.