Growth and survival rate of orange-spotted spinefoot rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus) using different feed types

Abstract

Orange-spotted spinefoot rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus) is one of the valued marine fish in the Philippines that is widely cultured in brackishwater ponds. This study evaluated the effects of varied feed types on the growth performance and survival of the fish cultured. The experiment utilized a randomized complete block design with three treatments: Commercial feeds; Commercial feeds + lead tree leaves (50:50); lead tree + M. oleifera (50:50) respectively. The results showed that combining a lead tree + M. oleifera greatly affects the indices measured. In terms of length and width, fish fed with lead tree + M. oleifera gained the highest growth increment of 7.11mm and 3.83mm. In terms of weight, fish fed with commercial got the highest increment of 1.02g. The specific growth rate in terms of length, width, and weight were significantly higher in fish fed with lead tree + M. oleifera at 23.48% day -1, 12.69% day-1, and 3.55 % day-1 respectively. Fish fed with commercial feeds got the highest survival rate and significantly from other treatments. Therefore, it is concluded that using a combination of Lead tree and M. oleifera can be used as an alternative feed for orange-spotted spinefoot rabbitfish as it has a good growth performance.