Vol. 12, Issue 4 (2023)

Author(s):
Chinmayee Sarangi, SK Mishra and S Nanda

Abstract:
The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of feed deprivation and refeeding on growth performance and survival of Labeo rohita up to 90 days. Three hundred and sixty healthy fingerlings with average initial length 5.2±0.11 cm and weight 6.73±0.11 g were reared in FRP tanks of 200liter capacity containing freshwater. The control group was fed to satiation every day throughout the experiment. The other three groups were deprived of feed for one day (T₁), three days (T₂), six days (T₃) and two weeks (T₄) respectively and then fed to satiation during the refeeding period. At the end of the experiment, fish Starved and refeed in every alternate day (T₁) had similar body weights to the controls, indicating that complete compensation occurred in T₁, whereas partial compensation was observed in T₂ and T₄ groups. The higher specific growth rate (SGR) of T₁ and T₂ as compared to other treatments was observed at the end of a 90 days experimentation which supported over compensation of fish in the T₁ group followed by T₂. The higher protein efficiency ratio value of Labeo rohita was observed in the T₁ and T₂ group might be the result from hyperphagia due to starvation for one day and three days respectively. Hyperphagia might be one of the mechanisms to improve specific growth rate, food conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio through which compensatory growth occurred, which was independent of duration of starvation.