Growth performance of tinfoil barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii) fry feeding with different protein content diets

Tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii is a commercially important freshwater fish, which is found in the sub-tropical and the tropical regions like Malaysia. Despite the commercial importance, research on the growth performance of B. schwanenfeldii is yet to be explored. This study aimed to determine the growth performance which includes the survival rate (SR) and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of B. schwanenfeldii fed with different types of portentous diets in a controlled laboratory condition. The experiment was carried out for 60 days, and three types of different treatments consisted of TP0 (32% protein content), TP1 (28% protein) and TP2 (23% protein). All experiments were performed in triplicates, with every treatment being carried out in nine plastic boxes with 1 metre depth and 2 metre diameter. Every container held 330 fish, which were fed two times a day depending on their body weights, at a 10% rate (for the initial 1 month) and at the rate of 5% for later stages. Findings indicated that the fish had significantly (p < 0.05) different growth performance when fed on different level of protein content diets. The significant higher final body weight and lower FCR value was observed when the fish were fed with TP0, which contained the highest protein content, followed by the TP1 diet and TP2. However, it was observed that the SR did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) amongst the three different treatments. Our study suggested that the B. schwanenfeldii could be cultured in the diets containing 32% protein, in a controlled environment.