Determination of optimum feeding rate for growth of Caspian carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) fingerlings

One of the important issues in aquaculture, need to achieve a balance between growth rateand optimal use of fish meal is provided. This study was conducted for 6 weeks in the Sijual BonyFishes Reproduce and Cultivate Center (Gorgan, Golestan, Iran). Experiments were done 4 treatmentsand 3 replicates as follows: treatment A = 2.5 % body weight per day, treatment B = 5 % body weightper day, treatment C = 7.5 % body weight per day and treatment D = 10 % body weight per day. Aimto this purpose Caspian carp fingerlings with an average weight of 1.5 ± 0.145 g and average length of2.97 ± 0.154 cm were distributed in 12 fiberglass tanks (30 number fish per tank) and were culturedfor 6 weeks in the same conditions and fed with SFC diet (content: 8.7 % moisture, 11.2 % ash, 32 %protein and 10.5 % fat) four times a day. Results showed that hadn't significant effects in SpecificGrowth Rate (SGR), Body Weight Index (BWI %), Growth Rate (GR) and Condition Factor (CF)(P<0.05) but hadn't significant effects in Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and survival (P>0.05). Theresults show that there are significant differences with regard to the amount of body weight and bodylength of fingerlings in different treatments (P<0.05), so that the maximum body weight and bodylength of carp fingerlings is 7.5 % body weight per day.