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Eco. Env. & Cons. 23 (4) : 2017; pp. (2125-2128)
Copyright@ EM International
ISSN 0971–765X
*Corresponding author’s email: *som_fish@rediffmail.com; pravinsapkale@gmail.com; sandeshpatil17@gmail.com
Growth performance and feed conversion efficiency
of Xiphophorus maculatus (Gunther, 1866) Juveniles
at different daily feeding rates
P.H. Sapkale, S.V. Patil, S.R. Yadav* and M.J. Gitte
College of Fishery Science, Kawalkhed Road, Udgir, District Latur 413 517, Maharashtra, India
(Received 24 December, 2016; accepted 20 February, 2017)
ABSTRACT
The effect of food ration on growth and survival of juveniles of Platy fish, Xiphophorus maculatus was
investigated. The juveniles Platy fish were submitted to six weeks growth trial. They were fed with increasing
levels of food ration of 2, 4, 6 and 8 % body weight in the form of formulated dry pellets to study the growth
and survival under laboratory conditions. The growth (123.83 ± 0.64 of weight and 191.98 ± 1.55 of length)
and survival rate (98 ± 1.01) were found to be highest at 8% of food ration. Specific growth rate was also
recorded highest in 8% food ration at the end of the experiment. The data revealed that for juveniles of
Platy fish, Xiphophorus maculatus, food ration of 8 % body weight is best to achieve maximum growth.
Key words : Food ration, Growth, Survival, Platy fish (Xiphophorus maculatus), Juveniles
Introduction
Ornamental fish sector is a widespread and global
component of international trade, fisheries, aquacul-
ture and development. Around 2,000 species and
millions of specimens are traded annually in the or-
namental fish trade. However, 90-96% of freshwater
origin species with largest quantity is being ex-
ported which are commercially produced in the
aquaculture industry (Cato and Brown, 2003). The
Southern Platy fish, commonly platy (Xiphophorus
maculatus) is a livebearer freshwater species of fam-
ily Poeciliidae represents the most important group
of ornamental fishes.
In aquaculture feed constitute 30-40 % of variable
operating costs. It means effective feed management
is key factor for success of fish production (Rad et
al., 2003). Specific growth rate (SGR) and feed con-
version efficiency (FCE) are the two most important
factors indicating the effectiveness of feed manage-
ment and successful commercialization of any fish
species (Goddard, 1996). Protein is considered the
most expensive macro-nutrient of fish diets. Feeds
used in fish farming consider good which provide
minimum level of protein that can supply essential
amino acids to promote acceptable growth of fish
(Pillay, 1990). Diet have shown optimal growth fed
with varying levels of protein in juveniles
(Nematipour et al., 1992). The ration size and feeding
frequency on growth, size distribution, food conver-
sion efficiency and survival is essential for fishes
(Johnson et al., 2002). Food ration is very important
factor, which has implications on fish health, growth
and deficiency may bring about stress or even mor-
tality to the fishes. In the present study, attempt was
made to examine the combined effect of ration size
on growth, survival and feed conversion efficiency
of juveniles of Platy fish.
2126 Eco. Env. & Cons. 23 (4) : 2017
Material and Methods
The juveniles of Platy fish (Xiphophorus maculatus)
were obtained from commercial local fish breeder in
Mumbai and acclimatized in a 710 L plastic pool for
one week period in the laboratory during which
they were fed freshly hatched brine shrimp nauplii
to satiation. Juveniles were then selected at random
and stocked at the rate of 20 juveniles per tank in
40.5 l glass aquarium tanks of freshwater provided
with continuous aeration through an air pump for
six weeks. Feed was prepared in the laboratory by
thoroughly mixing the powdered dry ingredients,
adding sufficient quantity of water to prepare
dough. The resultant dough was steamed in a pres-
sure cooker for 15 min (Table 1). After cooling, the
dough was pelletized by using a hand pelletizer of
1mm matrix and dried in an oven at 40o C. To avoid
contamination this dried pellets were stored in air-
tight plastic containers. The experimental diets were
analyzed for proximate composition following stan-
dard methodology (AOAC, 1995). The formulated
diet was fed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 % body weight twice per
day (09:00 and 17:00 h) designated as T1, T2, T3 and
T4 respectively throughout the experimental period.
All the waste such as uneaten food particles, fecal
matter were siphoned daily and 25 % of water re-
placed was compensated with new water. Each ex-
perimental tank was provided with continuous
aeration for better survival. The experiment was
conducted in triplicate. The average physico-chemi-
cal parameters of water like pH, dissolved oxygen,
temperature, alkalinity, phosphorus, nitrite, nitrate
and total ammonia from each treatment were deter-
mined weekly, as per procedure described in APHA
(1998). The juveniles from each treatment were col-
lected and accordingly percentage gain in length,
weight, survival, SGR and FCE recorded at the start
and towards the end of the experiment.
*Vitamin premix contained the following Vita-
mins (kg -1) feed: vitamin A, 5500 I.U.;
vitamin D3, 1000 I.U.; vitamin E, 50 I.U.; vitamin
K3, 10 I.U.; choline chloride, 550 mg; niacin, 100 mg;
riboflavin, 20 mg; thiamin, 20 mg; pantothenic acid,
50 mg; biotin, 0.1 mg; folacin, 5 mg; cyanocobalmin
(B12), 20 mg; vitamin C, 100 mg; and inositol,100 mg.
Calculation and Statistical Analysis of data:
(1) Gain in weight (%) = [final body weight- initial
body weight]/initial body weight x 100
(2) Gain in length (%) = [final body length- initial
body length]/initial body length x 100
(3) Specific growth rate (SGR) (% day-1) = In W2- –
InW1 x 100 / T where, W2 – Final weight, W1 – Ini-
tial weight, T – Duration in days (Stickney, 1994)
(4) Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) (%) = [wet
weight gain / dry weight of feed (g)] x 100
All the experimental data were subjected for sta-
tistical Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) set at P <
0.05 (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) and the Duncan’s
multiple range test (Duncan, 1971) was used for
comparison of mean values.
Results
The data on gain in weight and length of juvenile
Platy fish fed with different ration is given in Table
2. Percentage of gain in weight and length recorded
highest in treatment (T4) 123.83 ± 0.64 and 191.98 ±
1.55 respectively after the end of experiment.
Among all the treatments, highest survival was 98 ±
1.01% in T4 followed by 88.11± 2.06% in T3 and 86.31
± 2.15% in T2. Specific growth rate was better 3.77 ±
0.32 in T4, subsequently 2.61 ± 0.26 in T3 followed by
2.19 ± 0.18 in T2 and poor 1.89 ± 0.12 in T1. The feed
conversion efficiency was best in T4 (48.52 ± 1.76)
among all other treatments T3 (39.74 ± 1.39), T2
(36.53 ± 1.24) and T1 (32.19 ± 1.07). Average physico-
chemical parameters of waters were significantly
different for each treatment (Table 3) throughout the
experiment.
Table 1. Ingredients and proximate composition of ex-
perimental diet for juveniles of platy fish
(Xiphophorus maculatus)
Ingredient %
Fishmeal 52
Groundnut oil cake 27
Soybean meal 10
Rice bran 10
Vitamins (premix)*0.30
Cod liver oil 0.30
CMC – Starch 0.40
Proximate composition (%)
Crude protein 40
Lipid 10.3
Moisture 8.7
Ash 11.2
Carbohydrates 29.8
SAPKALE ET AL 2127
Discussion
Growth in all treatment differs with each other as
the prescribed feed given ranges from 2 to 8 % body
weight of juveniles of platy fish (Xiphophorus
maculatus). The growth was observed to be mini-
mum as well as very less when they fed with 2 %
body weight throughout the experiment where as it
was faster with higher feeding ration of 8% body
weight comparatively reported for Siberian stur-
geon and Epinephelus salmoides (Chua and Teng,
1982). Study have shown that less feeding ration
shows slower growth whereas higher ration have
proven maximum growth varying with the juvenile
size of this species optimized by feeding various ra-
tion subjected towards the size of juveniles of Salmo
trutta (Elliott, 1975a) Pseudopleuronectes americanus
(Tyler and Dunn,1976) Amphiprion percula (Johnston
et al., 2003). The size of food ration affects the FCE or
gross conversion efficiency in fishes. This study have
proven best growth which was the reflection of
much more ration size also observed better FCE
(Andrews and Stickney, 1972; Cacho et al., 1990;
Silva and Anderson, 1995). Significant increases in
SGR with higher feeding ration of 8 % body weight
suggest that a portion of dietary nutrients reflect
growth rather than maintenance (Rad et al., 2003) of
Acipenser baeri. Diet incorporated with 40 % protein
in feed have proven highest growth, better SGR with
highest food ration is supported by Chong et al.,
2004 for (Xiphophorus helleri). In present findings, the
highest weight gain was obtained when the juve-
niles were fed at 8 % body weight with diet contain-
ing 40 % protein and found better incomparison to
Rainbow trout (Satia, 1974); Coho Salmon (Zeitoun
et al., 1974); Largemouth Bass (Anderson et al., 1981).
Percentage increase in net yield of fish of 8 % over 2
% ration have shown the resembles to the higher
metabolism in active fishes (Brett, 1962) therefore
requires a greater amount of food to maintain its
Table 2. Growth details on effect of different food ration on juveniles of Platy fish fed for period of six weeks.
Particulars Food ration
T1 (2%) T2 (4%) T3 (6%) T4 (8%)
Initial weight (g) 0.93 ± 0.004 0.93 ± 0.004 0.93 ± 0.004 0.93 ± 0.004
Final weight (g) 1.34 ± 0.03a1.56 ± 0.07b1.79 ± 0.09c2.08 ± 0.12d
Gain in weight (%) 44.08 ± 0.17a67.74 ±0.25b92.47 ±0.41c123.83 ± 0.64d
Initial length (cm) 1.62 ± 0.02 1.62 ± 0.02 1.62 ± 0.02 1.62 ± 0.02
Final length (cm) 2.58 ± 0.04a3.04 ± 0.05b3.21 ± 0.08c4.73 ± 0.06d
Gain in length (%) 59.25 ± 1.23a87.65 ± 1.35b98.14 ± 1.47c191.98 ± 1.55d
Specific growth rate (% / day) 1.89 ± 0.12a2.19 ± 0.18b2.61 ± 0.26c3.77 ± 0.32d
Feed conversion efficiency (%) 32.19 ± 1.07a36.53 ± 1.24b39.74 ± 1.39c48.52 ± 1.76d
Survival (%) 84.44 ± 2.30a86.31 ± 2.15a88.11 ± 2.06a98 ± 1.01b
Values are Mean ± SD of three replicates (n = 3). Means bearing different superscripts (a,b,c,d) within a row differ signifi-
cantly (p < 0.05).
Table 3. Average physico-chemical parameters of water in tank during experiment
Parameters Treatments
T1 T2 T3 T4
pH 7.2 ± 0.38a7.2 ± 0.11a7.2 ± 0.27a7.1 ± 0.15a
Dissolved oxygen (mg L-1) 6.1 ± 0.30a6.0 ± 0.24a5.9 ± 0.18b6.1 ± 0.42a
Temperature (0C) 28.5 ± 0.43a27.4 ± 0.07b28.5 ± 0.23a28.3 ± 0.51a
Alkalinity (mg L-1) 60.23 ± 0.26a61.01 ± 0.12b59.07 ± 0.37c60.38 ± 0.86a
Phosphorus* (mg L-1) 0.0001 ± 0.00a0.0001 ± 0.00a0.0002 ± 0.00a0.0002 ± 0.00a
Nitrite* (mg L-1) 0.01 ± 0.00a0.01 ± 0.00a0.02 ± 0.00a0.02 ± 0.00a
Nitrate* (mg L-1) 0.001 ± 0.00a0.002 ± 0.00a0.002 ± 0.00a0.001 ± 0.00a
Total Ammonia *(mg L-1) 0.01 ± 0.00a0.02 ± 0.00a0.01 ± 0.00a0.02 ± 0.00a
Values bearing different superscripts in a row differ significantly (p < 0.05)
* Maximum levels obtained during the experiment.
2128 Eco. Env. & Cons. 23 (4) : 2017
body activities (Webb, 1978). The experimental juve-
niles were studied in a relatively constant environ-
ment with minimal changes in water quality. During
study, survival from the treatment fed at 8% was
found nearby 100% is also supported with findings
on juvenile of Amphiprion percula (Johnston et al.,
2003). It is apparent that both maintenance and food
rations vary with species, size and water tempera-
ture (Elliott, 1975b). In conclusion, the results of the
present study revealed that food ration fed at 8 %
body weight is well utilized to enhance the growth
with better food conversion efficiency and specific
growth rate of juveniles of platy fishes. More re-
search however, is needed to determine time inten-
sive methods for use by the fish producers and
culturist to maximize the ornamental trade across
the region.
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