Assessment of Temperature and Feeding Frequency as Determinants of Growth Performance and Feed Utilization in African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Fingerlings

This study evaluated the effects of water temperature and feeding frequency on the growth performance and feed utilization of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings reared in the hatchery of the Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology (FCFFT), Baga, Borno State, Nigeria. A total of 540 fingerlings (mean initial weight 6.4 ± 0.3 g) were stocked into 27 tanks in a 3 × 3 factorial design with three temperature regimes (24 °C, 27 °C, and 30 °C) and three feeding frequencies (once, thrice, and five times daily). After 56 days, fingerlings at 27 °C fed thrice daily achieved the highest mean weight gain (45.6 g), specific growth rate (3.74% day⁻¹), lowest feed conversion ratio (1.54), and highest protein efficiency ratio (1.63). Survival exceeded 90% across treatments. Once-daily feeding produced the poorest results (WG = 18.6 g; FCR = 3.23), while feeding five times daily increased feed intake but did not improve growth compared to thrice daily. Water quality parameters remained within safe limits, though dissolved oxygen was lowest (5.2  mg/L) and ammonia highest (0.42 mg/L) at 30 °C. These results confirm that optimal Performance of C. gariepinus fingerlings is achieved at 27-30 °C with thrice-daily feeding, providing practical guidance for hatchery management in Nigeria.