Effects of Feeding Rate and Feeding Frequency on Survival, Growth, and Body Composition of Ayu Post‐Larvae Plecoglossus altivelis

Abstract

The effects of feeding rate and feeding frequency on survival, growth and body composition of ayu post‐larvae (0.15 g in body weight and 3.5 cm in total length) were investigated in this study. A factorial experimental design of two feeding rates (3 and 6% of body weight of fish per meal) five feeding frequencies (one meal in 2 d, one meal a day, two meals a day, four meals a day, and six meals a day) with three replicates was used. Survival of ayu post‐larvae was significantly (P 0.05) affected by feeding frequency but not by feeding rate. Survival of ayu improved linearly with feeding frequency at both feeding rates. Weight and length gains and specific growth rate (SGR) of ayu was significantly (P 0.05) affected by feeding frequency but not by feeding rate, with weight and length gains and SGR linearly elevated with increasing feeding frequency at both feeding rates. The greatest weight and length gains were observed in fish receiving six meals daily at both feeding rates; however, no significant difference in weight gain was observed among two, four, and six meals a day, or in length gain between four and six meals a day. Feed efficiency ratio (FER) was significantly (P 0.05) affected by both feeding rate and feeding frequency. FER linearly decreased with feeding frequency at both feeding rates or feeding rate in the same feeding frequency. When the total daily amount of feed supply was constant with various feeding frequencies at different feeding rates (one meal a day at 3% feeding rate and one meal in 2 d at 6% feeding rate, two meals a day at 3% feeding rate and one meal a day at 6% feeding rate, or four meals a day at 3% feeding rate and two meals a day at 6% feeding rate), improvement in survival, weight and length gains, and SGR was observed in fish with higher feeding frequency at lower feeding rate. Moisture, protein, and lipid content of fish were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by either feeding rate or feeding frequency. However, lipid content of ayu linearly increased with feeding frequency at 6% feeding rate. The highest body lipid content was observed in fish receiving six meals daily at both feeding rates. Ash content of fish was significantly (P 0.05) affected by feeding frequency but not by feeding rate. Based on performance of ayu, it can be concluded that optimum feeding rate and feeding frequency for ayu post‐larvae (an initial weight of 0.15 g) were 3% per meal and four meals a day, respectively, under these experimental conditions.

Effect of Feeding Frequency on Growth Performance and Survival of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L. 1758) in a Cage Culture System in Lake Hora-Arsedi, Ethiopia

“…Several researches were carried out on effects of feeding frequency on growth of different fish species at different life stages, environmental conditions and culture conditions; but optimal feeding frequency is highly variable from species to species [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. On the other hand, there is little information about optimum feeding frequency of farmed O. niloticus.…”

Produtividade de tambaqui criado em tanque-rede com diferentes taxas de alimentação

“…de alimentação adequadas, nas diferentes fases de vida dos peixes, permite melhorar o seu crescimento, a sua sobrevivência e conversão alimentar, contribuindo para reduzir o desperdício de ração, o que prejudica a qualidade da água de cultivo e a produção (GODDARD, 1996;CHO et al, 2003). Para estabelecer estratégias eficientes de manejo alimentar, deve-se avaliar a taxa e freqüência de alimentação, além de métodos adequados de dispersão do alimento (GODDARD, 1996).…”

Growth of cultured seahorses (Hippocampus abdominalis) in relation to feed ration

“…Many studies have been conducted into the effects of manipulating feeding regimes in a number of cultured fish species in order to improve culture efficiency (Wang et al 1998;Saether and Jobling 1999;Rabe and Brown 2000;Mihelakakis et al 2001;Webster et al 2001;Dwyer et al 2002;Cho et al 2003). These authors have highlighted large species-specific differences in the effects of feed ration on growth and survival, as well as the interactive effects that variables, such as feeding frequency and diet composition, have upon the impact of feed ration.…”