Efficacy Of Binders On The Quality Of Microboumd Diets And Growth Performances Of Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium Rosenbergii Post Larvae

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.