Abstract:
Effects of microbound diets (MBD) in post larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii
were investigated in series of experiments. Five MBDs were formulated with
different binders (carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), agar, zein, alginate and
carrageenan). The water stability of the diets was analyzed by monitoring the dry
matter retention, turbidity of water and observation of physical structure from 0 to
360 minutes. MBD with zein showed higher dry matter retention, followed by MBD
with agar. Absorbance value of MBD water sample was increased with the
increasing disintegration of the MBD in the water. Throughout the experiment, MBD
with zein consistently showed the lowest value of absorbance. The physical
structure of all MBDs remained stable after 40 minutes of immersion except for
MBD with alginate which partial disintegrated. Survival and growth performance of
post larvae of M. rosenbergii fed with the same five sets of MBD also evaluated for
14 days. At the end of the feeding trial, survival rate of post larvae fed with MBD
formulated with CMC, agar, zein, alginate and carrageenan were 44, 62, 53, 43 and
52%, respectively. For growth performances, there were no significant differences.
