THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT WATER LEVEL ON THE GROWHT AND SURVIVAL OF EELS (Monopterus albus)

Abstract

Mud substrate so far is commonly used for eel cultivation. However, this method has some weaknesses as to the long time preparation and the difficulty in monitoring. One of the solutions is the use of clear water as a medium of maintenance. This research is aimed at finding the effect of water level on the growth and the life sustainability of rice eel without substrate. The eel used in this study has an average weight of 19.38+ 1.30 gram and an average length of 6.78 + 1.01 cm which is kept for the period of 70 days in two different water levels; that is, (A) 3 cm and (B) 5 cm. Result of the free t test shows that treatment B gives higher absolute length growth with a value of 2.24 cm and the life sustainability around 80%. However, there is no real difference (P?0.05) in the absolute weight growth (2.47-2.83) and growth rate of specific weight (0.45-050%).

Keywords: eels, water level, survival rate, growth