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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #165106
Title: DIFFERENCES IN GROWTH AND NUTRIENT EFFICIENCY BETWEEN AND WITHIN TWO CHANNEL CATFISH ICTALURUS PUNCTATUS STRAINS

Author
item Small, Brian

Submitted to: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/21/2004
Publication Date: 3/1/2005
Citation: Small, B.C. 2005. Differences in growth and nutrient efficiency between and within two channel catfish ictalurus punctatus strains. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 36:8-13.

Interpretive Summary: The USDA103 line of channel catfish was developed and evaluated at the USDA-ARS Catfish Genetics Research Unit, Stoneville, MS, and jointly released under the name NWAC103 to commercial producers in 2001 and 2002 in cooperation with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center. In the present study, growth rate and feed efficiency were compared between USDA103 catfish families and Norris (a common industry strain) catfish families. USDA103 catfish outgrew Norris catfish and were more efficient in converting feed to weight gain. This study demonstrates that USDA103 catfish have excellent growth compared to the Norris catfish, and supports the integration of NWAC103 catfish into the U.S. catfish industry.

Technical Abstract: USDA103 strain channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were compared to Norris strain channel catfish in an effort to determine differences in growth and nutrient efficiency. Variability within strains was also assessed by randomly selecting four families from each strain for comparison. On average, USDA103 fish gained significantly (P<0.05) more weight (51.2 vs. 31.7 g) and length (4.7 vs. 4.1 cm) compared to Norris strain catfish. Significantly (P<0.05) greater feed consumption (56.6 vs 41.3 g) and feed efficiency (95.7 vs. 89.9) for USDA103 catfish were also observed. Family differences in weight and length gain and feed intake were significant (P<0.05) between USDA103 families, whereas only differences in feed intake and feed efficiency were significant (P<0.05) between Norris families. Significant (P<0.05) differences in nitrogen and gross energy intake within both strains were positively correlated to feed consumption. Norris strain catfish, however, had significantly (P<0.05) higher overall nitrogen retention (35.6%) relative to the USDA103 strain average (31.0%). These results reiterate the superior growth of the USDA103 strain catfish due to increased feed consumption, demonstrate improved feed efficiency, and suggest a genotype-nutrient interaction relative to nitrogen efficiency.