Preliminary Studies on the Performance and Feeding Behavior of Silver Pomfret (Pampus argenteus Euphrasen) Fingerlings Fed with Commercial Feed and Reared in Fiberglass Tanks

Abstract

This preliminary study was conducted to determine the performance and feeding behavior of silver pomfret fingerlings (Pampus argenteus Euphrasen) fed with commercial feed and reared in fiberglass tanks. Silver pomfret fingerlings with an average weight of 15.2 g were stocked in six 1-ton fiberglass tanks (water volume = 700 l) at the rate of 20 fish per tank. The fish previously fed with moist feed made into paste, were gradually trained to feed on the test diet by replacing 25% of the paste with the test diet (Turbot feed, Ecostart 16 by Biomar of France) at weekly intervals. When the fish were already accustomed to the test diet, the feeding experiment started. Three tanks were assigned for each form (dry and moist) of feed treatment. Moist pellets were prepared by grinding the dry pellets, adding 25% water and repelletizing using a manual meat grinder. The experiment was carried out for 82 days. At the end of the study, significant differences between the two feed groups were observed. Fish fed with dry pellets were bigger (P < 0.03); had better daily growth rate (P < 0.03) and higher specific growth rate (P < 0.03); and gave better feed conversion ratio (P < 0.01) than the fish fed with moist pellets. However, survival rate of the fish fed with wet pellets was higher (P < 0.03) than that of the fish fed with dry pellets. Results of this preliminary study indicate that silver pomfret fingerlings accept dry pellets and perform better than those fed with moist pellets