The effect of stunting on growth, survival, and net production of milkfish (Chanos chanos Forsskal)

Abstract

The seasonal abundance of milkfish fry in the Philippines has led to the practice of buying a sufficient supply during the peak season to compensate for the shortage during slack periods. Fry that are not immediately grown out are crowded and stunted in transition ponds until they are transferred to rearing ponds. Milkfish farmers believe that stunted fingerlings grow faster than newly grown ones and therefore yield extra croppings. To assess the efficiency of production schemes, stunted and non-stunted milkfish fingerlings were cultured in twelve 144-m² ponds for a 3-month period. The treatments employed were: Treatment I, 2-month-old fingerlings; Treatment II, 3-month-old fingerlings; and Treatment III, 6-month-old fingerlings, with the initial weights of 3.3 g, 7.8 g, and 43.1 g, respectively. Survival, netproduction, cumulative and monthly weight gains did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among the three treatments. The results indicate that stunting did not illicit a significant increase, nor did it adversely affect the growth, survival, and netproduction of milkfish in a straight culture system. Stunting can therefore be practised by farmers to provide an adequate supply of fingerlings for year-round operation.