Feeding vitamins, antioxidants and cod liver oil enriched formulated feed influences the growth, survival and fatty acid composition of <i>Macrobrachium rosenbergii</i> (de Man, 1879) postlarvae

Abstract

Effects of feeding Macrobrachium rosenbergii postlarvae with a formulated feed enriched with four different media viz. vitamin E (feed F1), vitamin D (feed F2), cod liver oil (feed F3), astaxanthin (feed F4) on growth, survival and fatty acid composition of the postlarvae were investigated in comparison to the unenriched formulated feed (FC, control feed) using five groups of postlarvae with three replicates for each feed.Results showed that the postlarvae fed with cod liver oil enriched feed (F3) had the highest weight gain (225.72±9.05%), highest specific growth rate (2.95±0.07%), and highest survival (77.14±4.28%) as well as low food conversion ratio (0.87±0.03) compared to the postlarvae fed with the other feeds. The postlarvae fed with astaxanthin (F4) or vitamin E (F1) enriched feed also showed relatively higher percentage weight gain, higher specific growth rate and lower food conversion ratios but the larval survival was better in the group fed with astaxanthin enriched feed. Postlarvae fed with cod liver oil enriched feed contained the highest levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (4.45±0.44%) in the body where as the highest levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in the body were observed in the postlarvae fed with astaxanthin enriched feed (F4) and vitamin E enriched feed (F1). The results indicate that the nutritional quality of formulated feed can be increased through enrichment, especially with astaxanthin or cod liver oil which could © Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources M.G.I.S. Parakrama et al./Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 14 (2009): 59-74 60 improve the growth and survival of postlarvae of M. rosenbergii and the postlarval quality in relation to the fatty acid profile in the body.

Growth and survival of post-larvae of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) reared using feeds formulated with different sources of protein

“…Food conversion ratios similar to those recorded in the present study have been recorded by Venkat et al (2004) in their feeding experiments with Lactobacillus-based probiotics (2.19-2-75). The food conversion ratios recorded by Parakrama et al (2009) in their feeding experiments with vitamins enriched formulated feeds (0.87-1.88) lower than those recorded in the present study probably due to their high nutritive value. Enriched vitamins would have enhanced the assimilation of food.…”

“…Higher values observed for specific growth rate when fed with formulated experimental feeds indicate that larger size can be attained with lesser time than when fed with poultry feed starter-I. Specific growth rates observed in the present study when fed with formulated experimental feeds are higher than those recorded in the feeding experiments with Lactobacillus-based probiotics (Venkat et al 2004) and diets enriched with vitamins E and D, cod liver oil and astaxanthin (Parakrama et al 2009). However, the specific growth rates recorded in the present study are lower than those recorded when fed with Artemia, Moina, Tubifex, clam meat and egg custard (Indulkar and Belsare 2004).…”

“…The protein content in the commercially available poultry feed starter-I (20-21%), which is used to feed the post-larvae of M. rosenbergii in semi-intensive pond culture in Sri Lanka at present is less than the minimum required level of 23% (Corbin et al 1983) whereas in the formulated feed used in the present study, these values were higher than the required minimum. However, these values were slightly lower than that of the feed used by Parakrama et al (2009). Higher values observed for specific growth rate when fed with formulated experimental feeds indicate that larger size can be attained with lesser time than when fed with poultry feed starter-I.…”

“…Survival rates observed in the present study when fed with formulated experimental feeds (46-50%) were higher than those recorded when fed with Artemia (44%) or Moina (33%) alone but were lower than those recorded when fed with a diet consisting of 50:50 combination of Artemia and Moina (56%) (Alam et al 1993). Parakrama et al (2009) also recorded higher survival rates (57-77%) in their feeding experiments with vitamin enriched formulated feed. Indulkar and Belsare (2004) have also recorded high survival rates (70-92%) in their feeding experiments with Artemia, Moina, Tubifex, clams and egg custard.…”

“…Tested feeds include fish meal, Artemia, Moina, Tubifex, chironomid larvae, crab meat, poultry eggs, beans, various grains, clam meat, mussel meat and shrimp (Reddy 1997, Indulkar andBelsare 2004). In addition, feeding experiments with probiotics, nauplii larvae, liquid shrimp diet, spray dried algal cells and feeds formulated using various ingredients have also been carried out (Asoka and Hettiarachchi 2004;Venkat et al 2004;Parakrama et al 2009;Shailender et al 2013). This is the first record of research carried out in Sri Lanka on the growth and survival of post-larvae of M. rosenbergii when fed with feeds formulated with mussel meat, trash fish and cattle intestines as protein sources.…”