A 90-day on-farm feeding experiment was carried out in the installed
cages in brackishwater ponds to evaluate the efficiency of three
formulated diets on the growth performance and body composition of
Etroplus suratensis. Two diets DI and DII were in-house formulations
based on optimum macronutrient requirements (protein and fat)
derived from an indoor nutritional evaluation of E. suratensis, and diet
three DIII was a commercially available pellet meant for pearl spot
fish. A sum of 900 fishes were randomly distributed with an average
weight of 18.2±0.02g into three different treatment groups each in
triplicate, and each replicate had 100 fishes stocked in cages with
dimensions 2×2×1.5 m. At the end of the feeding trial, the fish were
weighed to assess growth parameters in terms of % gain in weight,
feed conversion ratio (FCR), and specific growth rate (SGR). The diet
(DI) displayed significantly (p<0.05) higher % weight gain, and SGR
than (DII) and (DIII). The FCR of diet (DI) was significantly (p<0.05)
lower than diets (DII) and (DIII). Diet (DI) showed better growth when
compared with other feeds. The study emphasized the need for
species-specific diets for application at the farm level for an effective
return on investment
