Effects of feeding rate on growth and feed efficiency of Sobaity seabream (Sparidentex hasta) fry in nursery phase

A 30-day research was conducted to evaluate the effects of different feeding rate (formulated diet) (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% of wet body weight/day) and also fresh food (20% of wet body weight/day) on growth performance and feed utilization of Sparidentex hasta fry in nursery phase. Growth performance including final weight and specific growth rate (SGR) significantly increased with increasing feeding rate (p<0.05). The relationship between SGR (% per day) and ration level (% per day) was an asymptotic curve described as SGR = 0.2809X+1.4191. Feed efficiency ratio (FER) decreased significantly with increasing ration levels, and the relationship between FER and ration level (% per day) described as FER =-0.0586X+1.3184. Hepatosomatic index significantly increased with increasing feeding rate (p<0.05). Based on the above results, it may be concluded that a ration size of 8% of body weight per day is optimal for good growth and feed conversion efficiency of juvenile S. hasta in nursery phase.