Estimation of Growth and Survival of Comet Gold Fish, Crassius auratus by Using Artificial and Natural Feeds in Closed Glass Fiber Aquaria

Abstract

The research work was carried out for 60-days with the aim of examine the effects of different feeds on larval development and survival of 3 day-old comet gold fish Carrasius auratus larvae in closed fiber glass aquaria to build up nurturing routine for supporting the aquarium business. Six experimental units were consisting three treatments, each comprising of two replications and stocked with 45 larvae. Initial length were 2.21 ± 0.03, 2.23 ± 0.04 and 2.25 ± 0.05 mm respectively in three treatments and weight of larvae was 0.005 ± 0.01 g and the volume of each glass aquaria was 30 × 11 × 8 inch 3. Three different feeds i.e. crushed pellet feed, mixed diet i.e. 50% pellet +50% chopped tubificid worms and live chopped tubificid worms, having different protein levels were administered to compare their suitability as food for nurturing of C. auratus larvae. The larvae fed with chopped tubificid worms showed significantly better results in terms of length and weight gain, percent length and weight gain and specific growth rate (SGR %) compared to the rest two treatments. The highest survival rate 64.64 ± 2.46% was shown by the chopped tubificid worms fed larvae which was significantly higher than those of crushed pellet feed and mixed diet respectively. Water quality parameters were monitored throughout the experimental periods. On the basis of larval growth and survival rate, it could be suggested the live chopped tubificid worms is suitable for the nurture of comet gold fish C. auratus larvae.

Full text

American Journal of Zoological Research, 2014, Vol. 2, No. 2, 33-36
Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajzr/2/2/2
© Science and Education Publishing
DOI:10.12691/ajzr-2-2-2
Estimation of Growth and Survival of Comet Gold Fish,
Crassius auratus by Using Artificial and Natural Feeds in
Closed Glass Fiber Aquaria
M. Raseduzzaman2, M. S. Mahfuj1,*, M. A. Samad3, B. M. S. Rahman4, M. G. Sarower2, A. K. Barman2
1Student of Master of Science in Aquaculture, Ghent University, Rozier-9000, Ghent, Belgium
2Fisheries and Marine Resource Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Bangladesh
3Department of Fisheries and Marine Bioscience, Jessore Science and Technology University, Bangladesh
4Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Riverine Station, Chandpur, Bangladesh
*Corresponding author: sarower_17@yahoo.com
Received September 29, 2013; Revised February 22, 2014; Accepted February 24, 2014
Abstract The research work was carried out for 60-days with the aim of examine the effects of different feeds on
larval development and survival of 3 day-old comet gold fish Carrasius auratus larvae in closed fiber glass aquaria
to build up nurturing routine for supporting the aquarium business. Six experimental units were consisting three
treatments, each comprising of two replications and stocked with 45 larvae. Initial length were 2.21 ± 0.03, 2.23 ±
0.04 and 2.25 ± 0.05 mm respectively in three treatments and weight of larvae was 0.005 ± 0.01 g and the volume of
each glass aquaria was 30 × 11 × 8 inch3. Three different feeds i.e. crushed pellet feed, mixed diet i.e. 50% pellet
+50% chopped tubificid worms and live chopped tubificid worms, having different protein levels were administered
to compare their suitability as food for nurturing of C. auratus larvae. The larvae fed with chopped tubificid worms
showed significantly better results in terms of length and weight gain, percent length and weight gain and specific
growth rate (SGR %) compared to the rest two treatments. The highest survival rate 64.64 ± 2.46% was shown by
the chopped tubificid worms fed larvae which was significantly higher than those of crushed pellet feed and mixed
diet respectively. Water quality parameters were monitored throughout the experimental periods. On the basis of
larval growth and survival rate, it could be suggested the live chopped tubificid worms is suitable for the nurture of
comet gold fish C. auratus larvae.
Keywords: comet gold fish, growth, feeds, aquaria and survival
Cite This Article: M. Raseduzzaman, M. S. Mahfuj, M. A. Samad, B. M. S. Rahman, M. G. Sarower, and A.
K. Barman, “Estimation of Growth and Survival of Comet Gold Fish, Crassius auratus by Using Artificial and
Natural Feeds in Closed Glass Fiber Aquaria.” American Journal of Zoological Research, vol. 2, no. 2 (2014):
33-36. doi: 10.12691/ajzr-2-2-2.
1. Introduction
The ornamental fish sector is a widespread and global
component of international trade, fisheries, aquaculture
and development. Ornamental fish keeping is becoming
popular as an easy and stress relieving hobby. About 7.2
million houses in the USA and 3.2 million in the European
Union have an aquarium and the number is increasing day
by day throughout the world [1]. Comets are smaller than
the common goldfish and only grow to a length of about 6
to 10 inches in an aquarium, but they can reach a length
exceeding 12 inches in a large pond. Under optimum
conditions, the tails can grow up to 12 inches in length
and may live up to 7 to 14 years [2]. Comets goldfish are
omnivorous and easy to feed and accept what is offered.
They prefer most food sources including flake food and
pellets [3]. Cyprinid larvae are known to prefer natural
food items such as free living protozoa and rotifers, and
larger planktonic organisms like cladocerans and
copepods at fry and fingerling stage [4].
For propagation of a fish species knowledge of feeding
habit is very essential as it plays a vital role in the growth
pattern. Food is the main source energy and plays an
important role in determining the population levels, rate of
growth and condition of fishes [5]. The proper growth of
fish depends on quantity and quality of food having all the
essential nutrients [6]. Growth of an organism can be
defined as a change in its size (length and weight) over a
period of time. The growth rate in fishes is highly variable
and depends upon many environmental factors. Quality of
food and its availability is one of the important factor
influences growth rate of fish [7]. The growth rate of
larvae is also influenced by the quality of feed and their
acceptability [8]. In aquaculture feed is the single most
important item since nearly 60% cost is associated with
fish feed [9].
The present study was conducted to find out the proper
feed (protein level) for larval growth and survivability of

34 American Journal of Zoological Research
comet goldfish (Carassius auratus) larvae in the
congested fiber glass aquaria.
2. Materials and Methods
The experiment was conducted for 60-day long from
20th December, 2010 to 15th February, 2011 in fiber glass
aquaria volume (30×11×8 inch3) in the fish physiology
laboratory of Fisheries and Marine Resource Technology
Discipline, Khulna University, Bangladesh. In this
experiment there were three treatments and each treatment
consisted of two replications supplied with three
dissimilar feeds i.e. treatment T1 (crushed pellet feed),
treatment T2 (mixed diet i.e. 50% pellet + 50% chopped
tubificid worms) and treatment T3 (live chopped tubificid
worms). Each of the experimental units of 45 larvae was
stocked and their average length were 2.21 ± 0.03, 2.23 ±
0.04 and 2.25 ± 0.05 mm respectively in three treatments
and their average weight was 0.005 ± 0.001 g respectively.
PG dose was used for artificial propagation of the brood
fish for production of larvae. Then the larvae were reared
in the glass aquaria up to three days and nourished along
with boiled eggs for avoiding biasness of outcome. Prior
to storing of larvae, each of the fiber glass aquaria was
prepared of dirt free up and equipped with all
conveniences so that the experimentation runs sound
powerfully. About 50% water from each aquarium was
partially substituted through hygienic water at every
alternate day before feeding. Appropriate aeration was
done to supply adequate oxygen into the aquaria by
motorized aerator it was nonstop till the conclusion of the
research. The feces in each aquarium were removed by
siphoning and the dead larvae were removed and reckoned
in the morning and in the evening prior to feeding.
Proximate composition of feeds were examined following
the standard methods given by Association of Official
Analytical Chemists [10] in the Fish Nutrition Laboratory
of Fisheries and Marine Resource Technology Discipline,
Khulna University, Khulna. The larvae stocked under the
different treatments were fed with different feeds
administered those three times daily at 7:00, 3:30 and
12:300 h. Sampling was made at every 7 days interval.
Ten larvae were arbitrarily collected from each aquarium
to obtain the length and weight data. The weight (g) was
taken in an analytical balance and the length (mm) was
measured by placing the fry on a transparent petridish
placed on a 1 mm graph-paper. Sampling was done before
the application of feed to avoid the biasness of weight due
to presence of excessive feed. The following formulae
were used to determine the different growth parameters
a) Length gain of larvae was calculated by [11].
()
Length gain mm
Average final length of larvae
–average initial length of larvae.
=
b) Weight gain of the larvae was calculated by the
following formula [11].
( )
Weight gain g
Mean final weight Mean initial weight= −
c) Specific growth Rate (%)
According to [12] the specific growth rate of prawn was
calculated as, Specific growth rate
21
21
( ) 100
LnW LnW
SGC TT
−
= ×
−
Where, W2 = Final live body weight (g) at time T2
W1 = Initial live body weight (g) at time T1
d) The survival rate was calculated by using the
following formula [13]
( )
%
100
Survival Rate
Initial number of fish final number of fish
Initial number of fish
−
= ×
e) Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR)
Feed conversion ratio was calculated by using the
following formula [14].
( )
Mass of food consumed Dry
FCR 100
Increase in mass of animal
= ×
2.1. Statistical Analyses
Spread sheet analysis of data was done by using
Microsoft Excel, version 5.0, Microsoft Inc. USA. To
analyze the data analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed
by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) [15] was done
by using SPSS 16.0 for windows® [16]. Standard (± error)
of treatments means were calculated from the residual
mean square in the analysis of variance.
Table 1. Proximate composition of feeds used for rearing of C.
auratus for 60 days (% dry weight)
Feeds
Protein (%)
Lipid (%)
Ash (%)
Pellet feed
29.35
9.45
19.57
Mixed feed
31.06
8.67
13.41
Tubificid worms
31.91
7.23
11.01
Table 2. Growth performance of comet gold fish, C. auratus larvae of different treatments after 60 days rearing, (mean ± SE)
Parameters Treatment T1 (Crushed Pellet feed) Treatment T2 (Mixed diet) Treatment T3 (Chopped tubificid worms)
Initial length (mm) 2.23 ± 0.03 2.21 ± 0.04 2.25 ± 0.05
Initial weight (g) 0.005 ± 0.01 0.005 ± 0.01 0.005 ± 0.01
Final length (mm)
22.11 ± 0.53 c
23.8 ± 0.48 b
25.9 ± 0.47a
Final weight (g)
0.22 ± 0.009c
0.25 ± 0.010 b
0.32 ± 0.027a
Length gain (mm) 9.08 ± 1.54 c 9.78 ± 1.87 b 10.4 ± 1.19 a
Weight gain (g) 43.2 ± 0.126
c
48.6 ± 0.037
b
63 ± 0.025
a
Percent length gain 90.8 ± 4.36
c
97.8 ± 5.23
b
100.4 ± 6.03
a
Percent weight gain 432 ± 27.56
c
486 ± 31.32
b
630 ± 33.73
a
Specific growth rate 1.08 ± 0.12
c
1.12 ± 0.65
b
1.33 ± 0.02
a
Survival
51.11 ± 3.10c
57.77 ± 3.01b
64.44 ± 2.46a
Values with different superscripts in a row are significantly different (one way ANOVA followed by Duncan test, P < 0.05).

American Journal of Zoological Research 35
3. Result and Discussion
The 60-day long experiment was performed with a view
to observing the effects of different feeds on growth and
survival of comet gold fish larvae. Proximate composition
of feeds were analyzed and given in Table 1. The initial
average length of the larvae were 2.21 ± 0.03, 2.23 ± 0.04
and 2.25 ± 0.05 mm in all treatments respectively and the
initial average weight of the larvae were 0.005 ± 0.001 g
for all treatments. The final average length of the larvae of
treatment T1 (crushing pellet feed), T2 (mixed diet i.e.
50% pellet feed + 50% chopped tubificid worms) and T3
(live chopped tubificid worms) were 22.11 ± 0.53 mm,
23.8 ± 0.48 and 25.9 ± 0.47 mm at the same time as the
final average weight were 0.22 ± 0.009 g, 0.25 ± 0.010 g
and 0.32 ± 0.027 g respectively (Table 2).
The highest length gain was found to be 10.4 ± 1.19
mm in treatment T3 (fed with chopped tubificid worms)
which is significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the rest of
two treatments (Figure 1). Likewise, the highest gain in
weights of the larvae was 63 ± 0.025 g in treatment T3
(fed with live tubificid worms) which is significantly (P <
0.05) higher than those of the other two treatments (Figure
2) followed by 48.6 ± 0.037g in treatment T2 (fed with
mixed diet) and 43.2 ± 0.126 g in treatment T1 (fed with
crushed pellet feed).
Figure 1. Weekly variation of length increment among three treatments during 60 days experimental period. Vertical bars represented ± standard error
Figure 2. Weekly variation of weight increment among three treatments during 60 days experimental period. Vertical bars represented ± standard error
The highest percent length gain was 100.4 ± 6.03% and
percent weight gain was 630 ± 33.73%, respectively as
observed in the larvae fed with live tubificid worms
(Table 2). After completion of the experiment, the highest
specific growth rate was found to be 1.33 ± 0.02% shown
by the larvae fed chopped tubificid worms (Table 2)
which was significantly (P<0.05) higher compared to
those in treatment T1 and T2 (Figure 3). The survival rates
were found to be 64.44 ± 2.46%, 57.7 ± 3.01% and 51.11
± 2.10%, respectively in T3, T2 and T1 (Figure 4).
According to [17] depicted growth rate of fish increases
within the level of dietary protein till the optimum level is
reached. [18] Suggest that growth, reproductive potentials,
and survival of each species are affected by the nutrient
conditions of the culture media. In the present study the
experiment was conducted in closed condition in the
aquaria that were different than any natural environment.
Cyprinid larvae are prefer to natural food items such as
free living protozoa and rotifers, and larger planktonic
organisms like cladocerans and copepods at fry and
fingerling stage [4]. Live-food has been the most useful
feed for rearing of fry of Coregonus lavaretus [19]. It also
plays an important role in the shrimp and salmon industry.
Among the different live-foods e.g. rotifers, Brachionus
spp., Moina sp., Artemia sp. etc. tubificid worms are very
popular and cheap live-food used for feeding larvae of
carnivorous and omnivorous fish species [20]. Considerably
better growth and survival rates of larvae and fry were
observed with tubificid worms over formulated feeds in a
number of catfish species such as ornamental koi carp,
Cyprinus carpio [21], Channa striatus [22] Clarias
batrachus [23]. The results of the present experiment also
suggest the suitability of live chopped tubificid worms as
the best food of C. auratus larvae.
Stocking density is known as one of the important
parameters in fish culture, since it directly affects growth
and survival, and hence production [24]. [25] Conducted
an experiment with the larvae and juveniles of Clarias
gariepinus and concluded that growth and survival was
density dependant and that live food was preferred to
formulated feed. In this experiment the stocking density
was 45 larvae in each aquarium that was an acceptable
density in respect of previous research works. However,
the hatchlings fed with formulated feed showed very little

36 American Journal of Zoological Research
interest according to [26]. The feeding frequency of 3
times/day was adopted during the present experiment to
avoid water fouling and ease of feed provision and other
managements. Feeding frequency has direct impact on the
growth performance and survival of fry and larvae of
Clarias macrocephalus [27]. They found that a feeding
frequency of three times in each day was best for rearing
the fry and larvae of Clarais macrocephalus which is
relevant to the present study.
Figure 3. Comparison of specific growth rate (SGR%) of larvae fed with
chopped pillet feed, mixed feed and live tubificid worms during 60 days
experimental periods. (Vertical bars represented ± standard error.
Columns marked with the different letters are significantly different)
Figure 4. Comparison of survival rate of larvae fed with pellet feed,
mixed feed and live tubificid worms during 60 days experimental periods.
(Vertical bars represented ± Standard error. Columns marked with the
different letters are significantly different)
The available information suggests that the survival rate
is very poor in earlier stage of the life cycle. In treatment
T1 the survival rate was lower than that of other two
treatments because, pellet feed was used in treatment T1
which deteriorated the water quality much than other two
treatments. This result may be due to poor physiological
development of earlier stage of life.
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