Food and feeding requirements of juvenile striped wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)

Fam, Sherra D. (1997) Food and feeding requirements of juvenile striped wolffish (Anarhichas lupus). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The striped wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) is a candidate species for commercial aquaculture m Newfoundland. It possesses a number of characteristics which facilitate culture, such as large eggs, well developed larvae which readily accept formulated feeds and tolerance to low temperatures. Little research has been conducted to determine the dietary requirements of the juvenile wolffish or the optimum stocking density and feeding frequency. The effects of three feeding frequencies (two meals/day, one meal/day and one meal/two days) on various growth parameters were investigated. Mean meal size was significandy and inversely affected by the feeding frequency. In addition, total feed consumption over time was directly affected by the meal frequency. The specific growth rate (SGR) was not adversely affected by the decrease in meal frequency or feed intake. Feed and labour costs, therefore, may both be reduced by lowering the frequency, without compromising the SGR. The stocking density also affected the feed consumption. The smallest mean meal size (3.990 mg/g fish) was consumed by fish stocked at 80 g/L. The largest meals were consumed by fish stocked at 50 g/L (4.955 mg/g) while the meal size of fish stocked at 20 g/L was in between these values. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) decreased significantly when the stocking density was greater than 50 g/L and the protein efficiency ratio (PER) was significantly higher when the stocking density was greater than 50 g/L. The dietary energy balance, expressed as the protein energy:total energy ratio (PE:TE) had a significant negative influence on the intake of feed, lipid and energy. As the PE:TE increased, the feed, lipid and energy intakes all decrease significandy. The PE:TE had no significant impact on the FCR or PER at either constant 9 °C or ambient temperatures (13.0 °C to 2.0 °C). The production cost (based on feed costs per kilogram of fish produced) was not significantly affected by the PE:TE or by decreasing temperatures.

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