Rainbow Trout Cage Culture and Benthic Production in East-Central South Dakota Dugouts

Forty-five cages, encompassing 1.0 m3 of water, distributed between three dugout ponds, were stocked with rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fingerlings to determine the feasibility of raising annual fish crops. Growth rates were compared between feeding rate (0, 3, and 5% body weight/day [bwt/day]) and stocking rate (35, 52, and 70 fish/cage). Growth was significantly (P ≤0.05) greater at feeding rates of 3 and 5% bwt/day than 0% bwt/day. The fish fed 0% bwt/day decreased in mean weight by 0.7 g; the weight gain for the 3 and 5% bwt/day feeding rates were 47.2 and 45.2g, respectively. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in growth were detected between stocking rates. Mean survival for the three feeding rates was 98%. Natural food contribution was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) for the 3 and 5% feeding rates, than the 0% bwt/day. Stomachs contained 2.6, 1.3, and 12.8 organisms/stomach for these respective treatments. While cage culture was not commercially feasible due to small harvest site, low stocking rate, and small cage size, trout were large enough for consumption.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Year

1984

Author dc:creator

• Schuler, Glenn David

Contributors dc:contributor

• Charles G. Scalet

• Natural Resources and Conservation

Statement dc:rights

• <p>No Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Only<br /><a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/</a></p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/223

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-1223