EASY AND EFFECTIVE
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All-Male fry without intervention
Uniform batches
High male ratio (>99%!)
Sustainable for fish, employee and ecosystem
Well developed immune system; stronger fingerlings
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1. YY-development
Since 1996 Til-Aqua International has been working on the development of YY-males and YY-females in tilapia for the production of all-male tilapia without the use of hormones; Natural Male Tilapia (NMT™).
2. Manual selection – YY line
In 2000, when the Til-Aqua YY line was obtained, manual selection for 100% male offspring was initiated. Each and every male and female from the YY line were crossed with respectively an XX-female or an XY-male. Only those fish that produced 100% male offspring in these crosses were kept for the Til-Aqua genetics program. This selection resulted in today’s male ratio:
> 99%* !!
3. Family selection – female lines
The various Til-Aqua female lines originate from two strains; Egypt and Philippine (gene pool Gift, Citralada, and more).
For improving these female lines, family selection is applied to improve growth performance and physical appearance.
4. Heterosis
The Til-Aqua YY line and the Til-Aqua female line have been completely separated from each other since the beginning. This avoids inbreeding on the NMT™ offspring and also causes a so-called heterosis effect, meaning the offspring is performing better than the average of its two parents:
1 + 1 > 2 !! |
5. Other female lines
Since 2016 Til-Aqua International is testing the performance of Natural Male Tilapia offspring that is originating from breeding Til-Aqua YY males with other commercially available female lines. This has given excellent results:
Til-Aqua NMT
99% ♂ – Uniform and excellent growth
Egyptian NMT
97% ♂ – Uniform growth
Phillipine NMT
96% ♂ – Excellent growth
Kenian NMT
96% ♂ – Performing well under cold conditions
GIFT NMT
98% ♂ – Excellent growth