Seaweed Gracilariopsis heteroclada, formulated flaked diet, and a combination of both as feed for the abalone Haliotis asinina: effect on growth and survival

This paper compares the effect of feeding the abalone Haliotis asinina with seaweed (SW), formulated (FD), and mixed (SW+FD) diets. The feeding experiment, in six replicates, was conducted in a tank facility and lasted for 10 months. At the end of the experiment, abalone fed mixed diets had significantly the highest mean shell length and body weight (45.90 +/- 0.19 mm, 22.82 +/- 0.31 g), followed by those fed seaweeds (43.47 +/- 0.17 mm, 18.25 +/- 0.26 g), and lastly, by those fed formulated diets (41.78 +/- 0.18 mm, 15.76 +/- 0.22 g). Mean growth rates were significantly higher in abalone fed mixed diets at 1.48 +/- 0.03 mm and 1.69 +/- 0.04 g mo(-1) than those fed seaweeds (1.26 +/- 0.03 mm, 1.27 +/- 0.06 g mo(-1)) or formulated diet (1.06 +/- 0.09 mm, 1.00 +/- 0.11 g mo(-1)). Survival was consistent 1 month from the start of culture until harvest-highest in abalone fed mixed diets (78.81 +/- 2.48%), followed by those fed seaweeds (70.12 +/- 4.07%), and lastly formulated diet (64.53 +/- 4.61%). Moreover, feed conversion ratios (FCR) were significantly lower in abalone fed mixed diets (15.48 +/- 0.69) and formulated diet (18.07 +/- 3.50) compared with those fed seaweeds (41.31 +/- 2.36). The body weight to shell length ratios (BW:SL), which were the same in all treatments at the start of the experiment (0.19 g mm(-1)), increased to 0.51, 0.44, and 0.38 in abalone fed mixed diets, seaweeds, and formulated diet, respectively. Based on the results of this experiment, giving abalone a mix of formulated and natural diets is the best feeding regime. The importance of a balanced and more nutritional diet on the well-being of the abalone was observed in this study.

Automated summary

This study compared the effects of feeding abalone with seaweed, formulated diet, or a mix of both. The results showed that abalone fed mixed diets had the highest growth rates, shell length, and body weight. Survival rates were also higher in abalone fed mixed diets. The findings highlight the importance of a balanced and more nutritional diet for the well-being of abalone.