Effect of Different Feed on Larval / Fry Rearing of Climbing Perch, Anabas testudineus (Bloch), in Bangladesh: II. Growth and Survival

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the suitability of different larval feeds for larvae/fry of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus . The experiment was designed on completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatments, each with 3 replications. Four different feeds were tested. The feeds was assigned to different treatments viz . T 1 (Artemia nauplii ), T 2 (tubificid worms), T 3 (rotifer powder) and T 4 (zooplankton). The experiment was continued for a period 28 days. Induced bred larvae (9-day old) were used in the experiment. The water quality variables such as temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, total hardness, free ammonia, etc. were found within acceptable limit of larval rearing. The larvae fed tubificid worms had significantly highest (P<0.05) growth (percent length gain 237.80±2.09, percent weight gain 2040.10±17.82, specific growth rate 13.61±0.01) and survival (61.0±2.0%), followed by Artemia nauplii , zooplankton and rotifer powder. Therefore, tubificid worms may be suggested for feeding climbing perch larvae upto stockable size.