Comparative assessment of the profit margin of catfish reared in concrete tank and earthen pond

Abstract

This study was conducted using the same feeding strategies and stocking density to determine the effect 
of using two different rearing facilities (earthen and concrete) of the same size (10 x 10 x 1.5 m) each on 
profitability of fish reared to market size in eight months. Results indicated that final mean weight (Initial 
mean weight 15g/fish of Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fed a monthly adjusted ration based on fish growth 
was greater in earthen pond (1.1 kg) than in concrete tank (0.9 kg). Despite higher survivability (70%) 
recorded in concrete tank as against the 60% in earthen pond, results further revealed that the size of fish 
harvested affected the biomass, which negatively affected the profitability. The earthen pond produced a 
profit of N
73,000 as against the N
52,000 from concrete tank. Profit margin of N
21,000 realized between 
the two structures demonstrated that, final mean weight of fish reared to market size was greatly 
influenced by culture media.