DETERMINATION OF STOCKING DENSITY FOR CARP REARING (Cyprinus carpio, Linnaeus 1758) IN FLOATING CAGES LOCATED ON IRRIGATION CANAL

Veta Nistor, Elena (Bocioc) Sîrbu, Fl.M. Dima, N. Patriche, Liliana Blondina Athanasopoulos, Magdalena Tenciu, M.D. Popa

Abstract
   The purpose of this experiment was to determine the stocking density and evaluate its influence on the growth performance of carp (Cyprinus carpio) reared in floating cages located on an irrigation canal. The experimental period lasted 90 days. A number of 600 carp specimens were distributed in four floating cages so as to form different stocking densities, namely: Experimental variant 1 (V1) with 130 specimens and an average weight of 215 g/ex; Experimental variant 2 (V2) with 150 specimens and an average weight of 151 g/ex; Experimental variant 3 (V3) with 170 specimens and an average weight of 142 g/ex; Experimental variant 4 (V4) with 190 specimens and an average weight of 89 g/ex. The fish were fed three times a day with extruded feed containing 30% crude protein and 9% fat. At the end of the experiment, the fish growth performance was evaluated by calculating the productive bioindicators. Better results were obtained for the experimental variant V3. In conclusion, the species Cyprinus carpio presents a growing interest for rearing in floating caged located on an irrigation canal, that support a high level of intensity in aquaculture.