Effects of Different Feeding Frequency on the Growth, Feed utilization and Body Composition of Juvenile Eel Anguilla japonica in Semi-RAS(Recirculating Aquaculture System)

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding frequency on the growth performance and body composition of juvenile eel, Anguilla japonica. Duplicate groups of fish (initial fish weight, 0.93 g/fish) were fed to apparent satiation at one, two, three, or four meals per day for 8 weeks. The results of the present study showed that weight gain and specific growth rate of fish fed one meal per day were significantly lower than those of fish fed three and four meals per day, were not affected by two meals per day. Daily feed intake of fish fed one meal per day was significantly lower than that of fish fed four meals per day, was not affected by two meals and three meals per day. Feed efficiency, daily protein intake and protein efficiency ratio were not affected by feeding frequency. The moisture, crude protein, crude lipid and crude ash were not affected by feeding frequency. Consequently, the present results suggested that optimum feeding frequency of juvenile eel (average weigth 0.9 to 3 g) is three meals per day.