Vol. 5, Issue 1, Part A (2023)

This study was conducted to determine the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the survival and performance of African catfish fry produced under artificial propagation in a fish pond for sixty days. Two types of fertilizers chicken manure, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and a Control group with no fertilizer were tested in triplicate using nine concrete ponds of 10 m². Zooplankton abundance, growth performance, and survival rate of Clarias gariepinus fry were determined. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences between treatments (P> 0.05). Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was done where significant differences existed between treatments. Results indicated that zooplankton abundance, fry growth response, and performance index (PI) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in chicken manure-applied ponds compared to DAP fertilizer and no fertilizer-applied ponds. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in fry survival between no fertilizer-applied ponds, chicken manure, and DAP-fertilized ponds. Water quality parameters were within the optimum range.