Effect of feeding frequency and feeding rate on the growth and feed efficiency of catfish, Heterobranchus bidorsalis fry in outdoor concrete ponds

Abstract

The effect of feeding frequency on the growth and feed efficiency of Heterobranchus bidorsalis was investigated at two feeding rates (10% and 40% of body weight) in a 2x2 factorial experiment. The study was conducted in twelve 2x2x1m outdoor concrete ponds supplied with aeration with three replicate ponds for each treatment. Fish averaging 80 ± 4.5 mg were fed either two times or four times daily at two different feeding rates using practical diets for ten weeks. The percentage weight gain ranged from 55.25% to 95.13%. Regardless of feeding rate increasing feeding ranged from two to four times a day did not improve feed utilization and growth parameters. Based on the results, it could be concluded that in practice, when supplementary feed is provided for Heterobranchus bidorsalis fry under outdoor nursery/rearing (where natural food is available), feeding two times daily at 40% feeding level is optimal for attaining maximum growth and efficient feeding utilization within 10 weeks that had been the normal fry rearing period to fingerling size.