Feeding for larvae of catfish Pangasionodon sp. larvae in different ages

ABSTRACT Sludge worm (Tubifex sp.) as natural feed on catfish (Pangasionodon sp.) larvae rearing is available in limited amount especially during rainy season. It becomes a constraint factor for larvae rearing sector. This research was conducted to evaluate the appropriate initial age of catfish larvae to get artificial feed as sludge worm replacement. Evaluation was conducted on the growth and survival of catfish larvae in 14 days of culture. There were four treatments of feeding in triplicates i.e. larvae were given natural feed without artificial feed, given artificial feed started from d3, d6, and d9) with three replications. The results showed that larvae fed on artificial feed on d3 had the lowest growth compared to the other treatments, whereas the survival was not significantly different (P>0.05) among the treatments. As a conclusion, artificial feed could be used to replace natural feed for catfish larvae started at the age of nine days. Keywords: sludge worm, catfish larvae, artificial feed ABSTRAK Cacing sutra (Tubifex sp.) tersedia dalam jumlah terbatas terutama pada musim penghujan sebagai pakan alami dalam usaha pembenihan ikan patin (Pangasionodon sp.). Ini menjadi kendala dalam usaha pembenihan. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengevaluasi umur larva ikan patin yang tepat untuk mulai diberi pakan buatan menggantikan cacing sutra. Evaluasi dilakukan pada pertumbuhan dan kelangsungan hidup larva ikan patin umur 14 hari. Selama pemeliharaan, larva diberi pakan dengan empat perlakuan; pemberian pakan alami tanpa pakan buatan, pemberian pakan buatan mulai d3, d6, dan d9 dengan tiga ulangan untuk masing-masing perlakuan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perlakuan pemberian pakan buatan mulai d3 memiliki pertumbuhan panjang yang terkecil dibandingkan perlakuan lain, sedangkan tingkat kelangsungan hidup larva tidak berbeda nyata (P>0,05) antarperlakuan. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa pakan buatan dapat digunakan sebagai pengganti pakan alami mulai larva ikan patin umur sembilan hari. Kata kunci: cacing sutra, larva ikan patin, pakan buata