THE USE OF COMPLETE FEED FOR FISH IN ZOOCULTURE OF BUFOTES TOADS (AMPHIBIA, ANURA, BUFONIDAE)

Abstract

Background. The actual problem of amphibian zooculture is the development of rational feeding of larvae. In recent years, for this purpose began to use feed for fish. One of the feeds that have shown high efficiency for amphibian larvae is “Tetra Marine Flakes” (Tetra GmbH, Germany). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of complete feed for aquarium fish in the growing of green toads’ larvae of the genus Bufotes. Materials and methods. The experiment was carried out on the larvae of B. baturae, B. boulengeri, B. latastii and B. perrini. 40 exemplars of larvae of each species were placed in aquariums with a volume of 40 liters. Food for animals was offered daily. The starting portion of food for each aquarium was 0,050 g. Depending on the feeding activity, the daily feed dose was increased independently for each group of larvae. Growing of larvae lasted until all young toads emerged from the water. Results. The size and weight characteristics of juveniles of all four species were within the range of variability noted earlier in nature and in artificial conditions. The survival rate of larvae before metamorphosis was 42,5–100 % in different groups. The minimum duration of larval development was 37–72 days, and the maximum – 99–218 days. On growing of one young toad before metamorphosis was spent from 1,167 to 2,579 g of a food. Conclusions. Complete feed “Tetra Marine Flakes” for aquarium fish can be successfully applied to larvae of green toads. This will facilitate feeding in the laboratory and will allow obtaining high parameters of growth and development of larvae.

Keywords

• bufotes baturae
• bufotes boulengeri
• bufotes latastii
• bufotes perrini
• larval development
• larval feeding
• amphibians feeding
• fish foods