The effect of diets suplemented with different natural foods on growth and feed utilization of snakehead (Channa striata)

Abstract

A sixty day feeding study was performed to determine the impact of diets enriched with various natural foods on growth and feed utilization of snakehead. Six hundred fingerlings weighing 4.33 to 4.71 g each fish were randomly stocked into 4 triplicate plastic tanks (1x1x1.5 m), fifty fish each tank. Four isoproteic and isoenergetic diets containing 45% crude protein and 18.5 KJ g-1gross energy were formulated. Control diet was formulated using fishmeal, salted trash fish, tofu by-product meal, rice bran, vitamin and mineral mix. The three diets were prepared with the same ingredients as control diet but were supplemented with 15% fresh earth worm (W), golden snail (S) and frog (F), respectively. The diets were fed to the fish at 6% body weight, twice daily for 60 days. Feeding the fish with diet F and S did not influence fish survival rate, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake, feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio and protein retention. However, feeding the fish with diet W increased weight gain and feed intake. It can be concluded that the supplementation of snakehead diet with fresh worm can improve growth performance and feed intake by the fish.