EXPERIMENT ON THE CULTIVATION OF BLACK APPLE SNAIL (Pila polita) IN DIFFERENT CULTURE MODELS

Abstract

This study was conducted under different culture models to evaluate the growth performance of the black apple snail (Pila polita). The experiment consisted of three treatments: culture in tanks (NT1), cages in ponds (NT2) and cages in rivers (NT3), each replicated four times. The initial average size of snails was 0.048 g in weight, 7.79 mm in shell height and 6.49 mm in shell width. Experimental units had a volume of 1 m³, a water depth of 80 cm and a stocking density of 200 individuals/m². After 90 days of culture, NT3 (river cages) exhibited the best growth performance, with final weight, shell height and shell width reaching 14.34 g, 38.59 mm and 29.87 mm respectively, which were significantly higher than the other treatments (p < 0.05). The absolute growth rate of NT3 reached 0.158 g/day, 0.342 mm/day and 0.259 mm/day in weight, shell height and shell width, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of NT1 and NT2 (p < 0.05). The highest survival rate was recorded in NT3 (80.87%) and biomass yield was also highest in NT3 (2.317 kg/m²), both showing statistically significant differences (p < 0.05).