Effects of different milk composition in egg custard on the growth and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae

Abstract

Larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii were fed with four types of egg custard diets; EC I, EC II, EC III and EC IV with triplicate each. 12 of 35 L plastic aquarium filled with 20 L of 12 ppt brackish water and I day old larvae were stocked in density of 50 larvae in 1 litre of water cultured for 20 days. Results showed that highest body length of larvae was observed on larvae fed with EC I which recorded 4.592±0.489a mm. Meanwhile for the highest SGR value was obtained on diet EC I (3.630±0.542a mm) followed by EC III (3.408±0.138a mm), EC IV (3.234±0.279a mm) and EC II (3.163±0.191a mm) respectively. Survival of larvae was highest on diet EC I (32±8a) at the end of experiment followed by EC IV (29±9.24a), EC III (27±9.24a) and EC II (24±0a) respectively. Results indicated that different milk composition in diets had no significant different on growth and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae (P>0.05).