Largemouth bass fingerling growth rates on two different food items

摘要

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is considered the most popular warmwater game fish in the United States. As the largest member of the centrarchid family, it consists of two recognized subspecies, the northern M. s. salmoides and the southern M. s. floridanus (McGinnis 1984). Largemouth bass are valued by sport fishermen chiefly because they are voracious predators that will actively strike at artificial lures. This has led to the widespread stocking of largemouth bass across the country. The rearing and stocking programs necessary to sustain heavily fished populations and new introductions translates into a large economic asset to the aquaculture industry of this country. These interests require extensive information on the biology ofthe species. Very little past research has compared the effectiveness and results of raising fingerling largemouth bass on two different food items, as opposed to differing formulations of prepared food pellets. For example, Tidwell et al. (1996) determined that largemouth bass fingerlings could grow faster on a prepared feed formulated to 47 percent crude protein over one containing a 42 percent protein level. One study using either artificial feed or a live food during grow-out produced no definitiveconclusions with the differing food items (Brandt and Flickinger 1987). So, this study was conducted, in part, in an attempt to assess and compare the growth rate of second year largemouth bass fingerlings fed a natural diet to those fed a prepared dietand to serve as a reference for an aquaculture facility.