Effect of the Formulated Diets on Performance and Resistance of Juvenile Abalone [Haliotis discus(Reeve, 1846)] Subjected to Various Stress Conditions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Performance and stress resistance of juvenile abalone (Haliotis discus) fed formulated diets substituting fish meal (FM) and macroalgae (MA) with soybean meal and rice bran, respectively, was compared with the MA under various stress conditions. Four experimental diets (Standard, FM50, FM50 + MA50, and FM50 + MA100 diets) were prepared in duplicate. The dry MA (Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica)were also prepared to compare with the effects of formulated diets on the performance of abalone to achieve the industry standard. About 84,000 juvenile abalone were distributed into twelve 5-ton tanks (7,000 abalone per tank). The diets were fed to abalone once a day to satiation. At the end of the 16-wk feeding trial, abalone were subjected to various stress (air exposure, sudden salinity, and temperature changes) conditions and cumulative mortality was monitored. Weight gain and specific growth rate of abalone fed the all formulated diets were higher than the dry MA. The cumulative mortality of...