Effect of temperature on growth, feed consumption and nutritional indices of Haliotis midae fed a formulated diet

Commercial farmers using formulated feeds need to know what ration size to feed their abalone. In two growth trials the effect of temperature and abalone size on growth rate and nutritional indices of abalone fed a dry formulated diet was quantified. Between 12 and 20 °C growth rate and feed consumption increased, protein-efficiency ratio (PER) improved and FCR did not differ significantly. However, between 20 and 24 °C, growth and feed consumption declined sharply, and PER and FCR deteriorated. The condition factor of abalone decreased with increasing temperature. It was concluded that temperatures between 12 and 20 °C are physiologically optimal for H. midae. This range corresponds to the mean sea temperature range experienced by H. midae within its natural range. Feed consumption, expressed as a percentage of body weight per day, decreased with increasing abalone size. A model which predicts feed consumption as a function of temperature, shell length and feed-conversion ratio was developed.