Performance of bullfrog tadpoles (Lithobates catesbeianus) fed balanced diets using alternative energy ingredients containing vegetable mesocarp

José Teixeira Seixas Filho,Marcelo Maia Pereira,William Nascimento Silva,Giselle Eler Amorim Dias,Silvia Conceição Reis Pereira Mello,Diego Dos Santos Mello,Elaine Da Conceição Pinto

doi:10.1590/s1519-99402122312022

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and metamorphosis of bullfrog tadpoles (Lithobates catesbeianus) fed balanced diets, wherein corn flour was replaced with banana, avocado, and pumpkin meal (all made without the epicarp). Using a completely randomized design, the animals were stored in tanks with a capacity of 30 L in a water recirculation system at a density of 1 tadpole/L. Through biweekly biometric measurements, the weight, standard, and total length were evaluated to determine metamorphic development, weight gain, consumption, feed conversion, specific growth rate, survival, physical-chemical parameters of water, and the percentage carcass composition (only at the end). Tadpoles fed rations balanced with pumpkin and banana flour performed the best, followed by those fed avocado meal and those fed the control ration (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that growth performance is improved in animals fed diets containing 10% pumpkin and banana meal instead of corn, and tadpoles that received the avocado meal had the same performance as the conventional diets. Research should be carried out to assess other avenues for the replacement of ingredients in rations for bullfrog tadpoles.

Highlights

Many of the ingredients that make up the rations used in aquaculture in Brazil are still not studied in relation to the intense peculiarities of the digestive physiology of aquatic organisms bred in captivity, especially in frog farming (Seixas Filho et al, 2011). a satisfactory number of feedstuffs are available in Brazil for dietary formulations, only few of these ingredients have been evaluated for their digestibility in bullfrog tadpoles (Albinati et al, 2000; Secco et al, 2005; Oliveira et al, 2008)
A satisfactory number of feedstuffs are available in Brazil for dietary formulations, only few of these ingredients have been evaluated for their digestibility in bullfrog tadpoles (Albinati et al, 2000; Secco et al, 2005; Oliveira et al, 2008)
Digestibility values are available for only 10 feed ingredients used for bullfrog tadpoles, whereas there are values for 40 feedstuffs used in tilapia diets, according to the Brazilian Nutrition Tables (Furuya, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Many of the ingredients that make up the rations used in aquaculture in Brazil are still not studied in relation to the intense peculiarities of the digestive physiology of aquatic organisms bred in captivity, especially in frog farming (Seixas Filho et al, 2011). a satisfactory number of feedstuffs are available in Brazil for dietary formulations, only few of these ingredients have been evaluated for their digestibility in bullfrog tadpoles (Albinati et al, 2000; Secco et al, 2005; Oliveira et al, 2008). The tract is only functional approximately 30 days later (Seixas Filho et al, 2011). This makes it difficult to absorb some of the nutrients present in the feed ingredients. This is aggravated when nutrients come from plant seeds with a high concentration of hemicellulose and lignin in the cell wall, such as corn and soybean. Among the feed ingredients that could be used as alternatives for bullfrog tadpoles, three are potentially interesting due to the structure of their cell wall, namely the meals of banana (Musa ssp.), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), and avocado (Persea americana) (Wegner and Belik, 2012; Silva et al, 2015). The objective of the present work was to evaluate the performance of bullfrog tadpoles fed balanced rations using flours made from the mesocarp of banana, avocado, and pumpkins to replace 77% of the total amount of corn

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion