Effect of Feeding Frequency of Commercial Floating and Sinking Pellet Diets on the Growth Performance, Feed Utilization and Body Composition of Sub-adult Starry Flounder Platichthys stellatus

摘要

A 2 4 factorial feeding trial was conducted to examine the effect of feed type and feeding frequency on the performance of sub-adult starry flounder Platichthys stellatus. Two feed types, sinking pellets (SP) and floating pellets (FP), were given to 480 fish housed in tanks. Triplicate groups offish were fed each feed type at one of four feeding frequencies (one meal every two days, one meal per day, two meals per day, and three meals per day) for nine weeks. Weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate(SGR) of fish were affected by feeding frequency. However, WG and SGR were the same in fish fed SP at two and three meals per day; similarly, there was no difference in WG or SGR of fish fed FP at one meal, two meals, or three meals per day. Feed utilization of fish was affected by both feed type and feeding frequency. These findings suggest that two meals per day of the SP or one meal per day of FP are sufficient for optimum growth performance of sub-adult starry flounder.