EFFECTS OF FEEDING REGIME ON GROWTH FEED CONVERSION AND SIZE VARIATION OF Silurus glanis

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of feeding frequency on the growth, feed utilization, condition and size variation of European catfish. Triplicate groups of fish (45 specimens per treatment) weighing 59.9±12.8 g (mean ± S. D.) were fed a commercial diet (18 MJ DE kg). Three different treatments were applied in 3-3 replicates. One group of fish was fed continuously with automatic belt feeders over 12 hrs (C). The second group of fish was fed by hand once a day (1x). The third group got three hand-fed meals per day (3x). In this case the portion was divided into three equal quantities. Feeding levels were 2.5% of actual stock weight in each group. During the 5-week trial, the final body weight (FBW), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), condition factor (CF) and coefficient of variance CV% were determined. In the first week, remarkable differences in specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio were observed between different treatments, however, all of the differences were ceased at the end of experiment. No significant difference in growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, size variation and condition factor were recorded between different treatments. Overall, our findings conclude that feeding frequency had no significant effect on any of the indices in Silurus glanis. Despite this, three times daily or more frequent feeding could be suggested, as frequent feeding regimes mitigate the harmful effects of rapid water quality changes.

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