Production and business performance of Anguilla bicolor fingerlings in a recirculation system with different stocking densities.

Eel (Anguilla bicolor) in the grow-out culture requires good fingerling seeds. Increasing the eel productivity can be done by increasing the stocking density, that should be balanced with good environmental and feed management. This study aimed to analyze the production and business performance of fingerlings in a recirculation system to increase the eel survival and growth rate. The study used a completely randomized design with three different stocking densities, namely 4 g/L (A), 5 g/L (B), and 6 g/L (C). The average weight of each fingerling was 20 ± 4.09 g, that was kept in a 1.5-m3 pond with a recirculation system. Feeding was performed two times a day using commercial feed with probiotic supplementation. The results showed that different stocking densities significantly affected feed conversion ratio, total biomass weight, and coefficient of variance. However, different stocking densities had no significant effect on survival rate, absolute weight growth rate, specific weight growth rate, and condition factor. The C treatment obtained the highest profit with an R/C ratio of 1.20 ± 0.03. The best production and cultivation performance of eel fingerling in a recirculation system with different stocking densities is found in treatment C (6 g/L). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]