Larval rearing of an endangered catfish , Ompok bimaculatus ( Bloch , 1794 ) with live and artificial diets : A preliminary study in Tripura , India

An ex-situ experiment was conducted for 28 days in order to evaluate the survival and growth rate of the larvae of an endangered freshwater catfish Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch, 1794) for stock enhancement. 7 days old post-hatchlings were stocked in plastic tubs having 30 L capacity and fed five different diets; zooplankton, Tubifex, zooplankton plus tubifex, egg custards and compound feed. Fishes accepted all types of diets. The experiment revealed that specific growth rate (SGR) was relatively higher in posthatchlings fed on zooplankton plus tubifex (4.79±0.58) followed by tubifex (4.11±0.52), zooplankton (3.94±0.14), egg custards (3.46±0.31) whereas minimum SGR was observed with compound feed (2.93±0.24). Significant difference (p<0.05) in SGR was observed in fish fed on live food. The final mean weight and weight gain showed significant differences (p<0.05) among feed groups. However, weight gain (%) was highest in diet of zooplankton plus tubifex (13.67±1.5) whereas lowest in compound feed (8.13±0.9). Highest mean survival rate was noticed in zooplankton plus tubifex (66.50±2.14%) and live tubifex (61.75±2.02%) whereas the lowest mean survival rate was recorded in compound feed (45.82±1.03%) on day 28. However, further investigations are required for improvement on the larval rearing in commercial scale of this delicious species.

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