Effects of frequency and feeding time on growth, food utilization, somatic indexes and survival of juvenile white snook Centropomus viridis

Abstract

The Pacific white snook, Centropomus viridis, is considered a species with high farming potential in Mexico due to its high economic value and overall demand in the national market. Growth in farmed fish is largely determined by the dietary regimen, which includes feeding frequency, rate, time, and cycle. The aim of the present study was to determine the feeding frequency and appropriate feeding time for farmed C. viridis juveniles in order to optimize growth and survival. Juveniles weighing 0.36 ± 0.01 g were used to evaluate 1 and up to 5 ad-libitum feeding frequencies per day, with 3 to 24-h intervals, for 6 weeks. Gained weight (GW), growth rate (GR), specific growth rate (SGR), food conversion ratio (FCR), feeding efficiency rate (FER), coefficient of variation (CV), hepatosomatic index (HI), peritoneal fat index (PFI), and survival (S) were determined for juveniles. Regardless of the feeding hours, no significant differences were found in the GR and SGR values between juveniles fed 3 times a day and those fed 5 times a day. FCR was significantly higher and FER significantly lower in treatments with juveniles fed only once a day compared with the rest of the treatments. No significant differences were found in CV, HI, and S between treatments. PFI was significantly different only between juveniles fed once and 5 times a day. Considering the results obtained in this study, we suggest feeding C. viridis juveniles 3 times a day at 6-h intervals between doses. These results will contribute to the development of biotechnology for farming this species.