Osborne, J.A. and R.D. Riddle, 1999. Feeding and Growth Rates for Triploid Grass Carp as Influenced by Size and Water Temperature, University of Central Florida.

Reprinted from Journal of Freshwater Ecology (1999) 14(1): 41-45

Thirty feeding trials were conducted using triploid grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella Val.) fed hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata Royle) to establish feeding and growth rates as a function of fish size and water temperature. Size of fish ranged from 0.2 to 9.1 kg and water temperatures ranged from 17 to 27 C. Feeding trials consisted of fish and hydrilla housed in 4 m(3) wire mesh cages suspended at weekly intervals in an experimental pond. Utilizing pre- and post-weights of fish and hydrilla, weight gain, relative and absolute feeding rates, and feeding efficiency were found to increase with increasing water temperatures. Relative and absolute feeding rates for 0.2 - 0.4 kg fish at 17 C were approximately 25% of that for similar sized fish at 27 C. Above 25 C, these small fish consumed their body weight per day of hydrilla. While relative feeding rates (gm hydrilla/gm fish/day) declined with increase in fish size (at constant temperature), this was not the pattern for absolute feeding rates (gm hydrilla/fish/day) where consumption rates ranged from 750 to 1200 gm hydrilla/day for fish weighing more than 1 kg. 

Entire Paper
Contact: John Osborne, University of Central Florida, Department of Biology, Orlando, FL 32816
Keywords: Hydrilla, Basic_biology, Ecological_interactions, Grass Carp
Product Type: Research, Basic_biology
User Type: General