Optimum feeding rate, and energy and protein maintenance requirements of young Clarias batrachus (L.), a cultivable catfish species

Abstract

Protein and energy maintenance and optimum feed requirements are reported in the catfisb, Clarias batrachus (L.), fed a purified diet (40% CP; 1487-lkJ/lOOg) at 0 to 8% (BW/day) ration levels. Linear (/• = 0-985) increase was observed in daily average growth increment up to a ration level of 4% (BW/day), corresponding to6 03g protein/(kg'"' BW/day) and 224-26 kJ encrgy/Ckg**" BW/day). Maintenance requirements, obtained by regressing daily average growth increment to zero, were 0-942 g/(kg''*' BW/day) for protein and 36-02 kJ/Ckg"'* BW/day) for energy. Net gains in muscle protein and energy also depicted linear increase (r = 0 975) with feeding levels up to 6-03g protein/(kg'"' BW/day) and 224-26kJ energy/(kg'"' BW/day). On fitting the above data to regression equations, giving the amount of dietary protein and energy required to maintain a constant amount of body protein and energy, values of l-005g/{kg"" BW/day) and 42-11 kJ/(kg*"' BW/day) were obtained for protein and energy respectively. The optimum feeding rate for this species, as evident from specific growth rate and conversion efficiencies, appears to be 3% (BW/day) at 30 ± 2°C. Moisture and lipid contents in muscle were found to be significantly (P < 0-05) affected by the ration levels.

Optimum ration level for better growth, conversion efficiencies and body composition of fingerling Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch)

“…The lack of any significant effect of ration level on body composition beyond the optimum level (7%) in our study is consistent with observations reported for rainbow trout, O. mykiss (Huisman 1976), channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Gatlin et al 1986) and walking catfish, C. batrachus (Hassan and Jafri 1994). The low protein retention value obtained at sub-optimal levels indicates that a substantial amount of the reduced energy intake was used to compensate the maintenance requirement at the expense of somatic growth.…”

“…Increased food wastage with increasing ration has also been reported for tambaqui, Colossoma macropomum ( Van der Meer et al 1997), milkfish, Chanos chanos (Sumagaysay 1998), bagrid catfish, M. nemurus (Ng et al 2000), Chinese long snout catfish, Leiocassis longirostraris (Han et al 2004) and juvenile grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella (Du et al 2006). No increase in growth is achieved when the feeding rate exceeds the optimum level (Hassan and Jafri 1994;Khan et al 2004), an observation which was also noted in our study: we found an insignificant gain in weight at the super optimum ration level. An increase in ration level from 3 to 7% BW day -1 significantly (P \ 0.05) affected body composition in our study.…”

“…A great deal of past research has focused on determining the optimum ration level of various culturable finfish species, such as rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Wurtsbaugh and Davis 1977), Clarias batrachus (Hassan and Jafri 1994), tropical bagrid catfish Mystus nemurus (Ng et al 2000), yellowtail flounder Limanda ferruginea (Puvanendran et al 2003), barramundi Lates calcarifer (Tian and Qin 2004), Chinese longsnout catfish Leiocassis longirostris (Han et al 2004), mrigal, Cirrhinus mrigala (Khan et al 2004), sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo (Rondan et al 2004), chinook salmon Onchorhynchus tshawytscha (Kiessling et al 2005), Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (El-Saidy and Gaber 2005), rainbow trout O. mykiss (Bureau et al 2006) and cuneate drum Nibea miichthioides (Wang et al 2007).…”

Response to the ration levels on growth, body composition, energy, and protein maintenance requirement of the Indian catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis—Bloch 1974)

“…At lower ration level, a slightly lower fat value was observed, though at the same time the fish could manage to maintain relatively higher and constant amount of protein in their body tissue over the initial value, suggesting that in this fish, body fat is preferred as energy source over protein. Similar results on body fat were also reported in white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus by Hung and Lutes (1987); Brown et al (1990); Hassan and Jafri (1994); Khan et al (2004); Ahmed (2007b). Ash content of fish fed different ration levels remained insignificantly low with the increase of Fish Physiol Biochem (2010) 36:1133-11431139 Opuszynski and Shireman (1991) rations excepting at 1 and 2% ration where maximum ash content was noted.…”

“…Hassan and Jafri (1994) reported gradual decline in conversion efficiency in fish fed at higher ration levels in Clarias batrachus. Ahmed (2007b) also reported similar result in Indian major carp, Labeo rohita.…”