Effect of different feeds on the growth, survival and reproductive performance of zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822)

Present experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different feeds with varying protein levels on the growth, survival and reproductive performance of zebrafish, Danio rerio. The control diet (T1) was wild-collected zooplankton from local fish ponds, while test diets with 350g kg(-1) protein (T2), 400g kg(-1) protein (T3) and 450g kg(-1) protein (T4) were formulated and fed to fish for a period of 210days. The significantly (P<0.05) highest mean weight gain and specific growth rate were observed in T1, which were similar with T3 and T4. The significantly (P<0.05) highest number of egg production per female and relative fecundity were found in T1, followed by T4 and T3 while T2 produced lowest number of eggs. No significant (P>0.05) differences were observed in brood survival rate, fertilization and hatching rate among the dietary treatments. The highest (P<0.05) fry survival rate was recorded in T1, followed by T3 and T4. Thus, it is suggested that control diet i.e. mixed zooplankton exhibited better growth, reproductive performance and fry survival rate. However, diet containing 400g kg(-1) crude protein also gave comparable results in terms of growth, survival and reproductive performance of zebrafish.