Feed types affect the growth, survival and cannibalism in early juvenile of striped snakehead (Channa striata Bloch.)

Abstract

The efficacy of zooplankton as live feed instead of commercially used artificial feed on growth, survival, cannibalism, and mortality in early juvenile of striped snakehead (0.13 ± 0.03 g) was determined in this study. One control- T1 (commercial artificial feed), and two treatments- T2 (both live feed and artificial feed) and T3 (live feed) were duplicated with hapa within two cisterns. After 5 weeks of the experiment, the growth parameters varied significantly in different groups, higher in T3, followed by T2 and T1, because of the ease of live feed in consumption and digestion among early juveniles. Observed mortality in T1 (33 ± 1) was higher compared to T2 (20 ± 1) and T3 (13 ± 1), most probably for the same reason. The cannibalism was the maximum in the T3 (20 ± 1), followed by T2 (14 ± 1) and T1 (6 ± 0) because live feed facilitates more heterogeneity in size and agitates the competitive behavior and opportunistic cannibalism. From the predator–prey size ratio, the total length of prey was almost half of the predator. Based on the total length of predator (TLpred) and prey (TLprey), the predator–prey model was developed, TLpred= (4.3603 × TLprey) − 5.779.

Keywords

• Cannibalism
• Growth
• Zooplankton
• Feed types
• Channa striata
• Predator–prey