Dietary effect on fry production and growth performance of sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna, in salt water
2007
Kumaraguru Vasagam,K.P. | Shanmugam,A. | Rajagopal,S.
Background. The viviparous sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821), is a popular ornamental fish that thrives in a wide range of salinities. It is well known that salt water of intermediate salinity (25‰) is suitable for mollies, especially for healthy breeding. Nutrition has been recognized to have a profound effect upon gonadal development and fry production in fish. Hence, the present work was carried out to evaluate the suitability of different practical diets, such as oyster meat, live tubificid worms, and formulated feed, on fry production, gestation period, and growth performance of P. latipinna in salt water. Materials and methods. Materials and Methods. A trial was conducted on P. latipinna in salt water (25‰ salinity) to evaluate the suitability of oyster meat, live tubificid worms, formulated feed, and a mixture of these three diets, on breeding and growth. Results. Irrespective of diet, the gestation period was consistently 28 days. Maximum fry yield (460 fry) and better growth performance was obtained in brooders and juveniles respectively fed mixed diet. A positive correlation existed between the loss of weight due to spawning in the brooders and fry production in all dietary treatments. Among the dietary treatments there was a significant difference (P < 0.005) in growth performance parameters, such as weight gain [g], food conversion ratio (FCR), and specific growth rate (SGR). Conclusion. Among the four dietary treatments, the mixed diet performed well in both breeding and rearing experiments. Hence in commercial breeding units, mixed feeding regimen could be adopted with mollies in salt water.
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