An assessment of the performance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii fed simple non-vitamin-supplemented pelleted diets

Michael B. New, Mali Boonyaratpalin, Paiboon Vorasayan and Sombat Intarapichate;Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division

An assessment of the performance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii fed simple non-vitamin-supplemented pelleted diets

Autores

Michael B. New, Mali Boonyaratpalin, Paiboon Vorasayan and Sombat Intarapichate;Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division

Descripción

Freshwater prawns are usually grown in earthen ponds where a variety of natural food is stimulated by fertilization, either directly or by feedstuff supplementation. Enquiries are received however as to the possibility of rearing Macrobrachium rosenbergii in concrete ponds. Pelleted diets with three protein levels (15%, 25% and 35%), derived from those formulated for a parallel experiment in commercial earthen ponds (New, M.B., 1980) have been tested in concrete ponds at this Institute. No attem pt to modify the diets to provide a complete ration was made, for comparative purposes, and no vitamin supplement was provided. Growth, production, survival and feed conversion of prawns fed 15%, 25%, 35% protein diets and broiler starter feed were not significantly different (P>0.05). The protein efficiency ratio of the prawns fed 15% protein diet was also not significantly different but appeared better than the other diets. This suggests that the 15% protein diet may be a desirable formula f rom a economical standpoint, at least for the first four months of rearing. The absence of a vitamin mix did not appear to cause problems but it is not yet known whether its inclusion would improve the performance of any of the test diets.