The effect of feeding frequency and ration on growth of juvenile spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Palinuridae).

摘要

The effect of feeding frequency and ration level on the growth and survival of early (5-10 mm CL) juvenile spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, was determined. Animals were either fed 100% body weight (BW)/day in the evening, coinciding with the change from light to dark, or 50% BW/day twice (once in the morning and once in the evening) daily, also coinciding with light transition. Feeding to excess once daily resulted in significantly (P>0.05) greater weight and carapace length (CL) increases during the 28-day experiment, compared with the same overall ration divided between two feeding times. Survival rates between treatments were not significantly (P>0.05) different during the trial. The implications for early juvenile spiny lobster culture are that feeding a high-ration once daily, at the onset of dusk, as compared with feeding half of the daily ration twice daily, results in improved growth rates..