Towards assessment of welfare in African catfish, Clarias gariepinus: the first step
Usually, farming implies that animals are kept in small areas in densities above the ones found in natural populations. These conditions may evoke reactions of impaired welfare when the animal is not well adapted to cope with its surroundings and conspecifics. In such cases, different behavioural patterns may occur, from reduced feed intake, to aggression and death. Behavioural information about the animal in common husbandry conditions may help us to understand its welfare. The overall objective of this thesis was to determine the effect of different husbandry conditions on (social) behaviour of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and the relation of (social) behaviour on stress, feed intake and growth. A series of experiments assessing feeding method, photoperiod, light intensity and stocking density were carried out. Based on the results of these previous experiments, a detail assessment of the effect of photoperiod and stocking density on behaviour, stress parameters and growth was carried out.