Rathod Ramesh, Kiran Dube, Appidi Krishna Reddy, Chandra Prakash, Virendra Kumar Tiwari1, Panchangam Venkata Rangacharyulu and Gudipati Venkateshwarlu
Abstract
Pengba is one of the most potential candidate fish species for aquaculture and an ideal fish species for diversification of carp culture due to its better taste and meat quality. In order to develop its culture technique, feeding of early stages has to be evaluated. The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of co-feeding of pengba larvae with live feed and microparticulate diet on growth and survival. Growth performance of larval pengba was examined in the present study by feeding with seven experimental diets consisted of Moina micrura (enriched with algae and cod liver oil) and combination of enriched Moina and microparticulate diet. Larvae fed with enriched Moina and combination diets showed significantly higher (p<0.05) weight gain percentage, SGR and survival rate. Fish fed with either Moina or microparticulate diet solely showed significantly lower growth rate and survival as compared to other diets. Co-feeding technique of pengba revealed that the larvae have efficiently utilized the live feed and microparticulate diet to enhance their growth and survival. Further, it was noticed that the combination of diets could helps in early weaning of larvae to shift from live feed to formulated diet.