A ten (10) week feeding trial was undertaken to assess the growth performance, nutrient utilization and blood metabolites of eight week old Juvenile Clarias griepinus of average weight range 250gm — 300gm stocked under 5 different treatments (10 (Trt I), 15 (Trt 2), 20 (Trt 3), 25 (Trt 4) and 30 (Trt 5) Juvenile Clarias gariepinus/25O litre bowl (under laboratory conditions) with increasing stocking densities. The increasing stocking density caused a decrease in value of the final fish body crude protein (Trt 1 (75.18%) > Iii 2 (73.91%) > Trt 3 (72.71%) > Trt 4 (71.21%) > Trt 5 (70.19%). A similar trend was followed in the specific growth rate (SGR) pattern decreasing from 0.20 (Trt 1) to 0.015 (Trt 5), mean weight gain (MWG) from 6.94 (Trt I) to 3.03 (Tn 5), protein efficiency ration (PER) from 0.29 (Trt I) to 0.04 (Trt 5), productive protein value (PPV) from 0.24 (Trt I) to 0.04 (Tit 5) and Net protein utilization (NPU) from 32.25 (Trt 1) to 19.28 (Trt 5). However the food conversion ratio (FCR) kept increasing from treatment (Trt 1)—88.46 to 662.31 in (Trt 5) with increasing stocking density. FCR correlation coefficient is positive (r 1.2964). Other growth and nutrient utilization parameters had negative correlations respectively. The following haematological and blood parameters (MCV, Hb, RBC, MCV, MCHC, MCH, and Total WBC) also showed significant (P <0.05) pattern of variations with stocking density. For parked cell volume (PCV) significant (P <0.05) drop were noticed from Trt 3 (26.98) to Trt 5 (2.00). Haemoglobin count (Hb) dropped from 6.97 in Trt 4 to 6.18 in Trt 5., confirming reduced activity, stressful conditions noticed at higher stocking densities along poor growth noticed in juvenile fishes in Treatment 5. The gradual and steady significant (P < 0.05) increase in WBC count of 29.26 in Itt 1 (10- fish) to 37.23 in Trt. 5 (30 fish) with increasing stocking density is also a reaction of the fish to stress. However, the Red Blood Cell Count followed a narrow range between Trt 1 2.53 — Trt 5 — 2.99, with no significance (P> 0.05) difference. All diets fed the 5 treatments were isonitrogenous at 40% crude protein.
Keywords: : Hematology, Growth, Metabolites, Monoculture, Stocking Density
