Weaning of the Asian catfish, Clarias macrocephalus Gunther, larvae to formulated dry diet

Abstract

Two feeding trials lasting 10 days each were conducted to determine the weaning time in the Asian catfish, Clarias macrocephalus, larvae to dry diet feeding. Three-day-old catfish larvae were fed newly-hatched Artemia nauplii for 2,4, and 6 days after which ad libitum feeding with a commercial feed (trial 1) or a formulated diet (trial 2) was started. Fish fed exclusively dry diet (0-day Artemia feeding) or those fed only Artemia for 10 days served as the controls. In trial 1, fish fed Artemia at different durations had significantly higher growth and survival than those reared exclusively on dry diet. In trial 2, percent survival was not significantly different among fish with or without Artemia pre-feeding. However, fish had significantly higher final body weight and SGR when reared initially on Artemia prior to dry diet than those fed exclusively dry diet. Based on the results, catfish larvae can be successfully weaned to dry diet after feeding Artemia for a maximum period of four days (ave. BW=12.25 mg).