Evaluation of Different Live Foods on Growth and Survival of Seahorse Fish (Hippocampus kuda, Signathidae) Ponies

Abstract

Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda,Signathidae) ponies were reared for 15 days at the laboratory of Marine Biological Research Station, Ratnagiri (India) using three types of live food viz Artemia nauplii, rotifers (Branchionus plicatilis) and a combination of both. The experiment was conducted in all glass aquaria (0.30 m x 0.30 m x 0.30 m). Seahorse ponies (10 + 0.27 mm) were stocked at 2 L-1 and fed with nutritional live food ad libitum. After 15 days of rearing, the ponies were counted and their individual lengths and weights were recorded. Significantly higher (P< 0.05) weight gain percentage (128.92 + 1.27%) of seahorse ponies, length gain percentage (57.4 + 0.82%), SGR percentage per day (5.53 + 0.04% day–1) and survival percentage (100%) of seahorse ponies were observed in the combination of Artemia nauplii and rotifers as food compared with Artemia nauplii or rotifer alone. Rotifers as live food resulted in poor growth and survival of seahorse ponies under this experimental condition.