Growth of Tinfoil Barb, Puntius schwanenfeldii, Fed Various Feeds, Including Fresh Chicken Manure, in Floating Cages

The effects of feeding various combinations of fresh and prepared feeds on growth of tinfoil barb, Puntius schwanenfeldii, was examined. The partial replacement of pellet feed with fresh chicken manure was also studied. Specific growth rates (% SGR) were best when fish were fed commercial pellets (0.35-1.50) and grated cassava tubers or bananas with dried fish and water spinach leaves (1.02 and 0.59-0.83, respectively). Food conversion ratios (FCR) of these feeds were also the lowest (1.3•7.5, 5.6 and 7.2•7.8). Leaves of the cassava and of a local climbing plant, Passiflora sp., also resulted in adequate growth (0.39-0.44 and 0.22) and better than expected food conversion (FCR: 8.4·12.3 and 18.3). Growth of fish that were fed pellet feed and had access to fresh chicken manure was not significantly different from that of fish fed entirely on pellets (% SGR: 0.4 and 0.44), but food conversion was significantly lower (FCR: 2.8 as opposed to 4.0).