Effect of
glycine betaine, a feed attractant affecting growth and feed conversion of
juvenile freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii
N. Felix , M. Sudharsan-2004
Aquaculture
Nutrition, 10(3):
193-198
Abstract:
A feeding experiment was conducted to
determine the effect of the feeding attractant, glycine betaine (betaine
hydrochloride) on the growth and feed conversion of juveniles of Macrobrachium
rosenbergii (deMan) (mean initial weight 1.12 g). Three types of
diets were prepared with the incorporation of glycine betaine at 5, 10 and
15 g kg-1
levels along with an unsupplemented control. After 60 days, weight
gain, feed intake and food conversion ratio (FCR) were higher in prawn fed
the three glycine betaine-added diets compared with the control feed. Among
the glycine betaine-added diets, prawn fed glycine betaine at 5 g kg-1
level showed highest weight gain (2.73 g) by registering 61.5% increase
in growth over control and also higher feed intake (5.79 g) and good
FCR (2.12). There were highly significant differences (P < 0.01)
in weight gain, feed intake, per day growth and FCR among treatments. There
was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in survival
among treatments.
(Department of Aquaculture, Fisheries
College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences
University, Thoothukudi 628008, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: nathanfelix@yahoo.com)