GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF THE JAPANESE ORNAMENTAL CARP (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758) FRY, REARED IN A RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEM

The aim of the experiment was to determine the growth performance of the Japanese ornamental carp fry. They were reared under controlled conditions in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and fed with pellets. The fish were divided into 2 experimental variants, with repetition, at the following densities: variant VI (B1 and B2) 150 fish/unit (0.4 g/fish); variant V2 (B3 and B4) - 300 fish/unit (0.4 g/fish). The rearing period was 30 days. The final mean body weight was 1.06 g/fish in variant A and 0.93 g/fish in variant B, while total losses were 14.16 and 16.33%, respectively. The data were statistically analysed with ANOVA test. The condition state of the ornamental carp fry, as evidenced by the allometric factor analysis, was better in the first variant, where a low stocking density was maintained. Also, feeding efficiency was superior in this variant, as confirmed by lower values of the feed conversion ratio.