Correlations and Interdependencies of the Main Morphological Traits in Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) Fingerlings, Reared in Recirculating Aquaculture System

Abstract

The aquaculture of the sturgeons from the Danube River basin is a niche approached by more and more Romanian entrepreneurs. The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) is a fresh water sturgeon with some useful characteristics that recommend this species to become a good candidate for intensive aquaculture in RAS. The monitoring of the growth dynamic of the sterlet or any other fish species reared in controlled conditions is very important for the fish farm management, especially for setting and adjustment of the technological parameters that directly influence the growth performances. The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlations and functional dependencies between some morphological traits, like total and standard length, maximum body depth and body weight in sterlet fingerlings reared exclusively into recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Our results clearly demonstrated that any of the four body measurements (total length, standard length and maximum body depth and body weight) could be monitored in sterlet fingerlings, to accurately assess the growth dynamic, the correlations among these being very high (ranging from 0.982296 to 0.999778). Moreover, the dependencies of these traits are very high. Three of measurements could be calculated based on sterlet body weight with our equations.