Effects of some Artificial diets on the Growth Performance, Survival Rate and

Abstract: An experiment on culture of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) in cemented tanks using different protein level diets was conducted to find the appropriate feeding diets and their effects on the growth, survival and biomass of 15-days old fry of Anabas testudineus in intensive culture. The experiment was carried out for duration of 60 days with 4 treatments in 8 cemented tanks each of size 12×6×1.5 feet. The initial length and weight were 14.5 ± 0.4 mm and 0.95 ± 0.05 g respectively. The feeds were applied twice a day at the rate of 10 % ( initially) to 5 % (later on) of the body weight of the fry/day. The results showed that the growth of fry varied significantly (P<0.05) with different diets. The highest growth, survival rate and biomass were found in the trial where fishes were fed on Sabinco feed containing 50.92 % protein (on dry matter basis), followed by Feed-3 containing 30 % protein. The poorest growth rate was shown by Feed- 1 (prepared by rice bran, wheat bran, fish meal and soybean meal) containing 20% protein. There was no significant difference in survival rates among the fry fed with Sabinco and prepared diets. The experiment suggests that Feed-2 (Sabinco Feed) can be recommended for the intensive culture of climbing perch. [Nature and Science. 2010;8(2):36-42]. (ISSN: 1545-0740)