Dietary evaluation of different processing discards in the larval rearing of the maldives clownfish , amphiprion nigripes at agatti island, Lakshadweep

Abstract- The black finned anemone fish / Maldives anemone fish Amphiprion nigripes is a marine ornamental fish abundantly available in Lakshadweep. The supply of this fish which is a prized ornamental in trade circles, falls much short of the demand. The main constraint in the enhanced hatchery production of this ornamental fish is the paucity of standardized appropriate larval feeds and feeding protocols to successfully tide over the prolonged phase of larval rearing.

Lakshadweep group of islands is basically a fishing activity centred area. This vocation in turn generates huge quantities of processing discards. Waste management through utilizing these processing wastes as ingredients in fish feed in an approach of much environmental significance. The present study assessed the possibility of utilizing different locally available processing discards viz., tuna processing waste, tuna roe, octopus processing waste and bait fish as feeds for larval rearing of the black finned anemone fish. Initial feeding of larvae was done with algal enriched rotifers till day 10, followed by artemia nauplii till day 25. From day 26 onwards the larvae were fed diets containing one of the different test ingredients, thrice a day, up till day 65. Conventional pelleted feed served as the control. Best growth response and survival was obtained in the case of tuna processing waste followed by octopus waste. Colouration of the larvae was found to be the best in larvae fed baitfish and tuna waste. The results indicate the possibility of utilizing the above indicated locally available processing wastes in feeds for larval black finned anemone fish. Further studies are however required in order to standardize these processing waste based feeds as well as feeding schedules.