2018-11-192018-11-192006NAGA, 29(3/4):74-77https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/1839To estimate the relative importance of the most common predators of Clarias gariepinus fry, increasing levels of protection were afforded to exclude amphibians, aquatic arthropods and birds. At a stocking density of 10 larvae/m² in nursing ponds, fencing off amphibians resulted in a 28 per cent decrease in mortality. Holding fry in hapas to protect them from both amphibians and aquatic arthropods decreased mortality by an insignificant 5.7 per cent. Installation of bird-netting over the hapas reduced mortality by 21.7 per cent. The remaining 4.9 per cent of total mortality, which could not be explained, was attributed to opportunistic cannibalism, disease and/or handling stress. Increasing stocking density to 40/m² and, thus, reducing the food available per fry increased mortality by 28.3 per cent.application/pdfCC BY 4.0Journal Article